Sentenced to Be a Hero gets Dotta Luzulas, Xylo Forbartz, and Venetim Leopool visual to celebrate Labor Thanksgiving Day
Steven Reynolds 
New Sentenced to Be a Hero visual has some fun
With yesterday being Labor Thanksgiving Day in Japan, several upcoming anime series, (including Isekai Office Worker), have released celebratory visuals.
One of those is the new fantasy action adventure Sentenced to Be a Hero, which also released a Labor Thanksgiving Day visual of its own, in its case a more humorous one featuring three of its main characters — Dotta Luzulas, Xylo Forbartz, and Venetim Leopool.
In the visual Xylo sits in a chair while Dotta rushes over with a basket of food but trips and seems to be about to drop it on Xylo’s head, as Venetim looks on smiling.
Then again, Venetim is known for being useless in just about anything he tries. So it’s not like he could help much, right?
Meanwhile, the anime’s official X account comments about Xylo:
He is someone who toils daily on the front lines of the battle against the demon army.
Sentenced to Be a Hero voice actor video
The anime also released a cute video of the three voice actors playing the characters.
Main protagonist Xylo is voiced by Youhei Azakami (Ron in Ron Kamonohashi’s Forbidden Deductions), Dotta is played by Shun Horie (Kyotaro in The Dangers in My Heart), while Shunichi Toki (Ginji in Kakuriyo -Bed & Breakfast for Spirits-) voices Venetim.
The Sentenced to Be a Hero plot
The upcoming fantasy anime is based on the light novels titled Sentenced to Be a Hero: The Prison Records of Penal Hero Unit 9004.
The series is written by Rocket Shokai and illustrated by Mephisto, with seven volumes out in Japanese so far and Volume 8 releasing in January.
Yen Press has been publishing the novels in English since August, 2023.
The light novels’ story follows criminals who are given the most serious punishment:
The Hero Punishment is the most serious one of all. Those who have committed a grave crime and are sentenced to the Hero Punishment are forced to become heroes.
Their punishment is to be resurrected even if they are killed by monsters, and to continue fighting on the front lines. Front lines that are inundated with the worst of the Demon King’s army.
The Punishment Hero Corps is made up of characters with flaws, including a berserker who hasn’t stopped fighting for hundreds of years, the worst thief in history, a conman political prisoner, a self-proclaimed terrorist of the king, and an assassin with a zero success rate.
Their leader, Xylo Forbartz, a former commander of the Holy Knights who was sentenced to the Hero Punishment for the crime of “Killing the Goddess,” encounters Teorita, the “Sword Goddess” whose existence had been hidden until now, during the battle.
“Lend us your strength, and we’ll defeat the Demon King.”
“That’s the spirit. When we’re victorious, please pat me on the head.”
When the two make a contract, the story of a fleeting yet fierce hero who will change a world shrouded in despair begins.
Production data for Sentenced to Be a Hero anime
Hiroyuki Takashima directs the fantasy anime, with Kenta Ihara (scriptwriter for Tsukimichi -Moonlit Fantasy-) in charge of both series composition and scripts, and Takeru Noda (Dandadan) designing the characters.
Studio KAI (animators of the wonderful Super Cub) is animating the series.
Sentenced to Be a Hero is scheduled to premiere on January 3rd, 2026. Watch its previously released trailer, and you’ll see this one looks like hella fun.
About the Author
Michelle Topham