Disney Plus announces surprise debut for a hugely popular manga adaptation that may as well be called John Wick: The Anime

Need something to fill the John Wick-shaped hole in your heart? Us too. Thankfully, Disney Plus is firing on all cylinders with the announcement of a new anime coming your way very soon.

As confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter, The Fable – the manga written and illustrated by Katsuhisa Minami – is hitting the streaming service worldwide on April 7.

The Fable is all about the juiciest of premises: a hitman who can kill anyone within six seconds. Unfortunately for Fable, his sponsor puts a stop to all the slaying and bloodletting, ordering him to go without killing for a whole year. Seeing as how he’s surrounded by some of Japan’s biggest criminals and lowlife scum, that might be easier said than done but, hey, even John Wick almost adapted to everyday life.

The Fable will be produced by Astro Boy studio Tezuka Productions and directed by Ryōsuke Takahashi, the veteran figure who is currently in his seventh decade of working in the anime industry.

The Fable should form part of what is already an incredibly exciting 12 months ahead. Demon Slayer season 4 is heading our way this spring, while we’ll have to wait a little longer to clap eyes on Goku and company in Dragon Ball Daima. In between, there’s everything from Bleach, Arcane season 2, and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime to look forward to.

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.