Aoki Densho Welsh & Shedar: Release Date, Dofus Lore, Full Cast & Where to Watch

Aoki Densho: Welsh & Shedar is officially on air. Episode 1 premiered on Friday, October 2, 2026, at 9:25 p.m. JST on Tokyo MX, and the run is locked at 12 episodes. It's a Franco-Japanese co-production between Ankama, the French studio behind Wakfu and Dofus, and Japan's Studio Massket. That partnership tests whether a fantasy universe built in France can follow Japanese TV anime rules without losing what made it distinct. The story puts a cooking-obsessed village boy and a memory-wiped prince on a collision course, and behind both of them stands a queen holding five of the six legendary Dofus eggs.

Ankama has promised a free worldwide release, just not on the same night as Japan. For everything else premiering this season, check our Fall 2026 anime schedule.

Aoki Densho: Welsh & Shedar Release Date and Global Streaming Schedule

The Aoki Densho: Welsh & Shedar release date in Japan was Friday, October 2, 2026, and new episodes air every Friday on Tokyo MX. Outside Japan, viewers are behind from the start. Japan gets a weekly broadcast plus a same-night stream on d Anime Store. Everyone else waits a month for Ankama's own channel, then gets a slower release pace. The players who have kept Dofus alive since 2004 are the core audience, and they're the ones left waiting.

Tokyo MX Broadcast vs. Global YouTube & Krosmoz Rollout

Tokyo MX airs Welsh & Shedar first, and the global release is on YouTube, free. Outside Japan, the only official home announced so far is Ankama's new channel, Krosmoz, rather than a paid streaming service. That's generous, and it changes how the show reaches fans:

• Japan: Tokyo MX, Fridays at 9:25 p.m. JST, with d Anime Store streaming each episode from 10:00 p.m. JST the same night. Check the official Japanese anime website for broadcast updates.
• Worldwide: the official Ankama Krosmoz YouTube channel, starting with the first two episodes in early November 2026, then new episodes every two weeks.
• Languages: Japanese, English and French audio, with English, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles.

The catch is the release pace. Japan finishes before Christmas. At one release every two weeks, YouTube viewers will still be watching well into 2027. A free, legal release beats a paywall, but spoilers from the Japanese broadcast will circulate long before the English dub catches up.

Episode Pacing & The 12-Episode Cour Layout

Welsh & Shedar runs a single cour of 12 episodes at roughly 24 minutes each. If Tokyo MX airs it without a break, the finale lands on Friday, December 18, 2026. Twelve episodes is tight for a story that has to introduce two leads, a tyrant queen, a dragon, two veteran heroes and the rules of the Dofus eggs. There is no room for filler, and little room for the slow village chapters Welsh's cooking obsession seems built for.

Broadcast breaks for specials can push those dates back, so treat the December finale as the target, not a guarantee. The official trailer shows the tone those 12 episodes are going for:

The trailer sells bright colors and a cheerful hero, but the story behind it is darker, and it starts with who controls the Dofus eggs and what she's willing to spend to keep them.

The War for the Relics: Core Narrative Conflict & The Dofus Threat

The central conflict is control of the Dofus. Queen Zabelle Sheran Sharm rules Bonta, the continent's dominant nation, and has already gathered five of the six legendary Dofus eggs. Her own people pay for it. Zabelle drains her citizens' life energy to fuel her rule, so the stronger she gets, the weaker her country becomes. Her guardian is the dragon Azalar, the avatar of the corrupted Ebony Dofus.

That makes the villain a ruler who feeds on her own subjects, not a foreign invader. It also makes the sixth Dofus the prize everyone is chasing. Zabelle is one egg from a complete set, and Azalar's attack on a quiet farming village is where the two leads' paths first cross.

Welsh vs. Shedar: Parallel Paths of Destiny

Welsh and Shedar are both 16, and they start on opposite sides of this war without knowing it. Welsh is a country boy from Broccoli Village who would rather cook than fight, raised by his adoptive mother, Mama Caroni. When Azalar attacks the village, the legendary warrior Joris pulls Welsh out of the wreckage, and the life he planned is over.

Shedar is the 16-year-old Prince of Bonta, raised to inherit Zabelle's throne. Then ancient dragons show him a vision of an azure-eyed boy who is Bonta's true heir. Zabelle wipes Shedar's memories and orders him to eliminate that boy, and the boy is Welsh. The prince is now hunting the one person with a better claim to his throne, and he no longer remembers why. The Japanese title, Aoki Densho, translates roughly to "Azure Legend," which shows how much of the story rests on that vision.

Welsh hasn't learned what his blue eyes mean yet, and Shedar doesn't remember who sent him. That leaves the question longtime Ankama fans will ask first: how much of this world do they already know?

Ankama Lore Breakdown: Is Welsh & Shedar Connected to Dofus and Wakfu?

Yes. Welsh & Shedar is canon to Ankama's Krosmoz universe and takes place in the Age of the Dofus, about 30 years after the feature film Dofus, Livre 1: Julith. The original story is by Anthony Roux, known as Tot, the Ankama co-founder behind both Dofus and Wakfu. Being canon means the series has to fit a timeline fans have followed for twenty years, and that leaves little room to rewrite history.

The Age of the Dofus is the era of the original Dofus MMORPG, roughly a thousand years before the events of Wakfu. Wakfu fans won't see Yugo's Brotherhood of the Tofu here, but they will recognize the political map. Bonta was a central power in the Dofus era, and the series shows what happens when that power ends up with a ruler who treats her population as fuel.

Two familiar heroes return, and both are older now:

• Joris was a boy caught in Bonta's war in Julith. Thirty years later he's the legendary warrior who rescues Welsh, and his new role puts him against the crown of the city he grew up defending.
• Khan Karkass, the warrior from the Julith era, returns as a veteran of the same world, now living under Zabelle's rule.

You don't need the games or the film to follow it, because the series sets up its conflict from scratch. Returning fans will get more out of it, though: the heroes of Bonta's last great war now live in a Bonta that feeds on its own citizens. That conflict is Ankama's, but the voices bringing it to the screen are where the Japanese side of the partnership shows most clearly.

Aoki Densho: Welsh & Shedar Voice Cast & Production Roster

Yuki Kaji leads as Shedar, opposite Rikuya Yasuda as Welsh, with Makoto Furukawa as Joris. Kaji, the voice of Eren Yeager in Attack on Titan, plays a role with two layers: the prince before the memory wipe and the assassin after it. Yasuda has the harder job, making a boy who would rather be cooking believable as a hero. Furukawa, the voice of Saitama in One-Punch Man, gives Joris the weight of a veteran.

Sho Hayami, whose villain roles include Sosuke Aizen in Bleach, gives Azalar a voice built to intimidate. Yuko Kaida plays Zabelle, a queen who has to sound like a mother to her heir and a tyrant to her country.

Studio Massket, Ankama & the Staff Behind the Series

Studio Massket animates the series under director Naoki Horiuchi, whose credits include Kingdom's second season and Black Clover. Their challenge is that Ankama's style is rounder and more cartoon-like than most TV anime. Character designer Saori Nakashiki, whose credits include Tales of Wedding Rings, has to keep that heritage while making the cast fit a Japanese production. Pierre-Jean Beaudoin and Jose Pavli compose the score.

The theme songs make the boldest statement. Hironobu Kageyama, the voice of Dragon Ball Z's "Cha-La Head-Cha-La," and Masami Okui, who sang Revolutionary Girl Utena's "Rinbu Revolution," perform the opening, "Bokura no Mirai e," together. Both are longtime JAM Project names, and pairing them signals that Ankama wants an old-school hot-blooded adventure, not a quiet fantasy. Kageyama also sings the ending, "Omelette," a fitting title for a hero who loves to cook.

With the cast, staff and broadcast calendar covered, a few questions still come up more than any others.

Frequently Asked Questions About Aoki Densho: Welsh & Shedar

How many episodes are in Aoki Densho: Welsh & Shedar?

Aoki Densho: Welsh & Shedar has 12 episodes, each about 24 minutes long, airing weekly on Tokyo MX from October 2, 2026.

Is Welsh & Shedar canon to the Wakfu and Dofus universe?

Yes. It is set in Ankama's Krosmoz universe during the Age of the Dofus, about 30 years after the film Dofus, Livre 1: Julith, with an original story by Dofus and Wakfu creator Anthony Roux (Tot).

Where can I stream Welsh & Shedar with English subtitles?

On Ankama's free Krosmoz YouTube channel, starting with the first two episodes in November 2026 and new episodes every two weeks after that. It offers English subtitles alongside Japanese, English and French audio.

What studio is animating Aoki Densho: Welsh & Shedar?

Studio Massket animates the series in Japan as a co-production with French studio Ankama, with Naoki Horiuchi directing.

Aoki Densho: Welsh & Shedar is a 12-episode bet that a French fantasy universe can thrive in a Japanese production, and that a prince sent to kill a cook can carry the story. Whether the Dofus canon survives a single cour depends on how fast Horiuchi's team can get Welsh out of Broccoli Village and into the fight. Track the full October lineup in our Fall 2026 anime schedule, and follow every new premiere on our upcoming anime hub.