Rust-Eater Bisco

Alternate Titles

錆喰いビスコ
Sabikui Bisco

Synopsis

Set in Japan in the future, civilization has collapsed due to a calamity known as “Rusty Wind” which rusts and kills everything that comes into contact with it and turns the environment into a barren wasteland. The cause of the Rusty Wind is thought to be mushroom spores, and the Mushroom Guardians, a clan skilled in mushroom usage, have become persecuted. Bisco Akaboshi is a young Mushroom Guardian who begins a journey through the dead landscape of Japan in search of a mushroom called the Rust Eater, which is rumored to be able to cure the effects of the Rusty Wind. Together with his companion Milo, can they survive the harsh, unforgiving landscape and the even more unforgiving people who wander it?

Background

Rust-Eater Bisco is a light novel series written by Shinji Cobkubo with artwork by K Akagashi and world design by mocha. It has been published under ASCII Media Works’ Dengeki Bunko imprint since March 2018 and the eighth volume will be released in January 2022. The novel has been licensed for English release in North America through Yen Press.

A manga adaptation with artwork by Yusuke Takahashi was serialized online via Square Enix’s Manga UP! online manga magazine from April 2019 and March 2021 and was released in four collected tankobon volumes. The second part of the manga, illustrated by So Natsuki, began serialization in the same magazine in December 2021.

A TV anime adaptation was announced during the "Kadokawa Light Novel Expo 2020" in March 2021. It is being animated by OZ and features Atsushi Ikariya as director and Daisuke Mataga as assistant director, with Sadayuki Murai handling series composition and scripts, Ai Asari and Atsushi Ikariya handling character designs, and Hinako Tsubakiyama and Takeshi Ueda composing the music. The anime’s opening theme song is "Kaze no Oto Sae Kikoenai" by JUNNA, and the ending theme song is “Houko” by Ryota Suzuki and Natsuki Hanae as their respective characters. The anime will premiere in Japan on Jan. 10, 2022 on Tokyo MX, Yomiuri TV, and BS11.

Characters

Bisco Akaboshi (Voiced by: Ryota Suzuki)
A boy with fiery red hair and sharp eyes who is a Mushroom Guardian. He is a master archer and can shoot arrows covered in mycelium that make mushrooms bloom everywhere. Feared as the “Man-eating Mushroom,” he is a wanted criminal with a bounty of over 800,000.

Milo Nekoyanagi (Voiced by: Natsuki Hanae)
A handsome young doctor who runs a clinic in Imahama. He is nicknamed “Dr. Panda” due to the black bruise under his left eye. He is naturally gifted with medicine and continues developing medicine by mixing illegal mushrooms to find a cure for his sister Pawoo who suffers from the Rusty Wind.

Pawoo Nekoyanagi (Voiced by: Reina Kondo)
Milo’s older sister and a female fighter who wields an iron club. She is the head of the vigilante group that protects Imahama Prefecture. Her physical abilities are far beyond an ordinary person’s. Though she has a severe case of rust from the Rusty Wind, she has tremendous willpower and is determined to protect her brother and the city from the Mushroom Guardians.

Tirol Ochagama (Voiced by: Miyu Tomita)
A mysterious and beautiful girl with striking pink hair that looks like a jellyfish. She is dexterous and quick-witted but is very stingy with her money. She is a member of Kurokawa’s guard, but her main occupation is that of a traveling merchant who runs the “Jellyfish Shop.” She often runs into Bisco and the others.

Jabi (Voiced by: Shiro Saito)
Bisco’s mentor. He was once known as the Archer Saint and is a hero among the Mushroom Guardians. He has been traveling across Japan with Bisco for a certain purpose, but he is aware that his time is running short and is worried about Bisco’s future after he’s gone.

Kurokawa (Voiced by: Kenjiro Tsuda)
The governor of Imahama Prefecture. He rules over the city together with his rabbit-mask-wearing elite guards. After meeting Bisco at the beach, he becomes obsessed with arresting him.

Music

Opening Theme Song: "Kaze no Oto Sae Kikoenai" by JUNNA
Ending Theme Song: “Houko” by Ryota Suzuki and Natsuki Hanae

• Website (Japanese)
• Twitter (Japanese)

• Original Creator: Shinji Cobkubo
• Original Character Design: K Akagishi
• Original World Design: mocha
• Director: Atsushi Ikariya
• Assistant Director: Daisuke Mataga
• Series Composition/Script: Sadayuki Murai
• Character Design: Ai Asari, Atsushi Ikariya
• Chief Animation Director: Ai Asari, Norie Igawa
• Main Animator: Momoko Kawai, Yutaka Matsubara, Asuka Mamezuka, Hitomi Takechi
• In-Between Animation Director: Yi Hui Zhang
• Art Director: Masakazu Miyake
• Art/Creature Design: Yoshihiro Sono
• Color Design: Emi Chiba
• Effects Director: Kumiko Taniguchi
• Director of Photography: Tsubasa Takagi
• CG Director: Kunihiko Mitamura
• Editing: Yoshiaki Kimura
• Sound Director: Kisuke Koizumi
• Music: Hinako Tsubakiyama, Takeshi Ueda (AA=)
• Music Production: Flying Dog
• Animation Production: OZ