In a single panel at New York Comic Con 2026, Crunchyroll announced TV anime for three Korean webtoons: The Boxer, Teenage Mercenary and The Remarried Empress. Here is what each is about, who makes it and when it airs.
Quick facts
| Title | Studio | Webtoon views | Schedule |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Boxer | breccia and Studio Jemi | More than 1.06 billion | Not announced |
| Teenage Mercenary | J.C. Staff | More than 2.84 billion | 2027 |
| The Remarried Empress | TROYCA | More than 2.97 billion | 2027 |
What is The Boxer about?
The Boxer is a webtoon by JH (Ji-Hoon Jeong), creator of The Horizon. It launched on Naver Webtoon in 2019 and has more than 1.06 billion global views as of September. It won an award at the 2024 World Webtoon Awards.
The story: a legendary boxing coach, K, finds an apathetic teenager being beaten by bullies. He sees the boy’s precision and perceptiveness and wants to recruit him, but the boy only asks whether hitting people is fun.
Two studios are making the anime: breccia, a new Japanese studio founded by Muneki Ogasawara (a founding member and producer of Kinema Citrus), and Korea’s Studio Jemi. The directors are Takehiro Kubota (the My Happy Marriage franchise) and Won Yeong Kang. Toshiya Ono (86, The Promised Neverland) oversees the scripts. Kōki Uchiyama voices Yu, Kenshō Ono voices Ryu, Tomokazu Seki voices K and Toshiyuki Toyonaga voices J. HAYATE, the new venture of Aniplex and Crunchyroll, produces.
Who is making Teenage Mercenary?
Teenage Mercenary (Japanese title Nyūgaku Yōhei) is a webtoon by YC and Rakyeon that launched on Naver Webtoon in November 2020. The Japanese edition came to LINE Manga in April 2021 and the English edition to WEBTOON in June 2021. It has more than 2.84 billion global views as of September 2026 and is available in 10 languages. It ranked first in LINE Manga’s 2023 and 2024 annual rankings.
J.C. Staff animates, for a 2027 broadcast. Manabu Ono (Sword Art Online: Alicization) directs and writes the series scripts, Koji Haneda (Spice & Wolf) designs the characters and Hiroyuki Sawano (Attack on Titan) composes. HAYATE also produces. The cast has not been announced.
And The Remarried Empress?
TROYCA animates, for 2027, with Tetsuya Yanagisawa directing. The webtoon by HereLee and SUMPUL has more than 2.97 billion views and ended in January 2026 after seven years. The full details are in OtaHub’s dedicated article.
OtaHub’s take
The three differ in genre (boxing, everyday action, court drama) but share one thing: huge webtoon view counts, from over 1 billion to nearly 3 billion. By the sources OtaHub read, at least two of the three, The Boxer and Teenage Mercenary, have HAYATE producing. The reporting on The Remarried Empress does not mention HAYATE.
Webtoon readers should take the news with some caution: none of the three has an air date, and The Boxer does not yet even have a year. Wait for a trailer with moving footage before raising expectations.
FAQ
Which three webtoons are getting anime?
The Boxer by JH, Teenage Mercenary by YC and Rakyeon, and The Remarried Empress by HereLee and SUMPUL (based on a web novel by Alphatart). Crunchyroll announced all three at New York Comic Con 2026.
When will the anime air?
Teenage Mercenary and The Remarried Empress air in 2027. The Boxer has no year or date yet. None of the three has a specific date.
Where can I watch?
The sources only say Crunchyroll made the announcement. Platforms and regions are not confirmed for any of the three. OtaHub will update when there is word.
Sources: Anime News Network (reports on The Boxer, Teenage Mercenary and The Remarried Empress, October 8 and 9, 2026), Crunchyroll.
