Joseph Luster
August 8, 2025 
An anime film adaptation was announced for Keigo Higashino’s The Keeper of the Camphor Tree—known as Kusunoki no Bannin in Japan—back in April. The official website followed up on that news this week to announce a Japanese theatrical premiere date of January 30, 2026.
A new teaser trailer and visual arrived with the news, with the latter sporting the “This tree has a secret” tagline.
The Keeper of the Camphor Tree Teaser Trailer
The two lead voice cast members were also unveiled, with Fumiya Takahashi (Aruto Hiden/Kamen Rider Zero-One in Kamen Rider Zero-One) as protagonist Reito Naoi and Yuki Amami (Gran Mamare in Ponyo) as Chifune Yanagisawa.
A-1 Pictures (Sword Art Online, Solo Leveling) handles production for the feature, with Tomohiko Ito (Sword Art Online) directing, Taku Kishimoto (Haikyu!!) writing and Tsubasa Yamaguchi (BLUE LOCK author) and Akiko Itagaki (Lonely Castle in the Mirror) designing characters.
Aniplex will handle distribution for the film.
The Kusunoki no Bannin novel first hit shelves in Japan in 2020. Publisher Abacus has an English release planned for November 2025 under the title The Keeper of the Camphor Tree, describing the story like so:
If you knew you didn’t have long to live, who would you tell? What would you say? And how would you deliver the message?
The Keeper of the Camphor Tree starts with Reito Naoi, a man in his early 20s, being unjustly fired from his job. Enraged and fuelled by feelings of revenge, he tries to steal a valuable device from his workplace, but things don’t go to plan, and he ends up arrested.
In jail, Reito is paid an unexpected visit by a lawyer who offers to arrange for his release, if he complies with the wishes of the lawyer’s client. Seeing no alternative, Reito accepts and soon discovers that the lawyer’s client is his aunt. When Reito tells her that he has no plans for the future, she gives him an order: ‘What I want you to do is to guard a camphor tree.’ And thus begins Reito’s custodianship of a camphor tree standing on the grounds of a shine – a camphor tree with a mysterious legend associated with it…
Source: Crunchyroll News
