Joseph Luster
July 9, 2025 
Those who have watched all the way through the first episode of the Turkey! anime—which is ostensibly about bowling—were treated to a major plot twist at the end. For everyone else, especially those who plan to watch at some point, you may want to avert your eyes, because things haven’t quite gone as planned for the Ikkokukan High School bowling club.
To put some buffer space between the intro paragraph and the actual spoiler, here’s how the series was previously described in past articles along with the staff behind it:
Turkey! is set in Chikuma, Nagano and tells the tale of the five members of the Nagano Prefectural Ikkokukan High School Bowling Club and their attempt to balance having fun with some serious winning. The series is produced by Bakken Record and Pony Canyon, and stars Hana Hishikawa as Mai Otonashi, Kana Ichinose as Rina Kodai, Haruki Iwata as Sayuri Ichinose, Yūki Tenma as Nozomi Mitake and Aya Saitō as Nanase Nikaidō.
It’s directed by Susumu Kudo (Momentary Lily) and written by live-action drama writer Naomi Hiruta, with character designs from Airi Takekawa (“Ippon” Again!), and music production handled by Pony Canyon and animation production from Bakken Record.
Now, for the twist in the series officially known as Turkey! -Time to Strike-:
That’s right… at the end of the first episode, the girls end up getting transported back in time to Sengoku era Japan. Check out the visual, new cast and an updated synopsis:
With the time-traveling revelation comes new cast members, including:
Noriko Hidaka as Sumomo
Yuko Minaguchi as Akebi
Kikuko Inoue as Suguri
Miki Ito as Anzu
Rei Sakuma as Natsume
Description:
The story is set at the bowling club of Ikkokukan High School in Nagano Prefecture. Mai, the club captain, values having fun with everyone over winning. But her junior, Rina, pushes back, saying, “I want to win.” When Rina threatens to quit the club, Mai tries to talk her down—but Rina challenges her to a one-game match. Suddenly, the bowling ball begins to glow, and the five club members are enveloped in a mysterious light…When they wake up—They’ve somehow time traveled to the Sengoku era!? A completely original anime blending bowling and time travel, Turkey!-Time to Strike- [streaming worldwide]!
Source: Anime News Network
