Oishinbo is getting a new TV anime more than three decades later

Oishinbo is returning to television with a new adaptation titled Shin Oishinbo. Shin-Ei Animation unveiled the project on September 19 during an ABEMA Anime Festival 2026 stage celebrating the studio's 50th anniversary, accompanied by an initial teaser. The announcement confirms that the anime is in production, but does not reveal when it will premiere, who will join the cast or which creators will lead the adaptation.

The return comes more than three decades after the previous anime ended. Produced by Shin-Ei Animation with Nippon Television, the original series aired 136 episodes from October 1988 to March 1992. Two television specials followed in 1992 and 1993. Since then, the franchise has remained visible mainly through reruns, manga editions and digital distribution of the older catalog.

What has been confirmed about Shin Oishinbo

The announced title is Shin Oishinbo, or “New Oishinbo.” It remains based on the manga written by Tetsu Kariya and illustrated by Akira Hanasaki, which began in Shogakukan's Big Comic Spirits magazine in 1983. The story follows journalist Shirō Yamaoka and Yūko Kurita as they build the “Ultimate Menu,” a project that pits them against gourmand Yūzan Kaibara and his competing “Supreme Menu.”

The teaser confirms that identity, but does not define the new show's narrative relationship with the 1988 anime. It is not yet possible to say whether the series will continue beyond previously adapted material, restart the story for a new audience or select manga chapters that were never animated. A broadcaster, streaming service, international distributor, runtime and episode count are also unconfirmed.

As a lead-in to the new project, the official Oishinbo YouTube channel has scheduled Oishinbo Introduction: Masterpiece Episode Collection for September 25 at 8 p.m. Japan time. The special will collect stories from the older series to introduce its characters and the rivalry between the two menus. It is a confirmed release involving the classic catalog, not the premiere of the new anime.

Why the return is more than another remaster

Shin-Ei had already been keeping Oishinbo accessible through remastered uploads on its official channel, which the announcement says has passed 590,000 subscribers. Shin Oishinbo changes that approach by commissioning new animation instead of only recirculating older episodes. The introductory special also gives viewers who missed the original broadcast an entry point without requiring familiarity with all 136 episodes.

That context supports an editorial inference that the project is intended to renew access to the franchise, but it does not prove that the material itself will be modernized. Questions about a contemporary setting, changes in how food culture is presented or revisions to the relationship between Yamaoka and Kaibara remain open. The only confirmed fact is that a new television series is in production.

The lack of a date and staff list places Shin Oishinbo at an early announcement stage. The next substantial update will need to show whether the return preserves the continuity of the older anime or rebuilds its premise for another generation. Until then, the teaser confirms the project's existence rather than providing a complete release plan.