Magic Knight Rayearth 2026: Creditless Ending "Hoshiakari" Released, Where to Watch, Episodes & Cast
The creditless ending for CLAMP's new Magic Knight Rayearth is out, and its title isn't what most English sites say. Here's the real name of the song, where to stream the 2026 anime with an English dub, how many episodes to expect and how it compares to the 1994 classic.
| Category | Anime |
|---|---|
| Published | OCT 14, 2026 |
| Read time | 10 MIN |
Magic Knight Rayearth 2026 premiered on October 7, 2026 on TV Asahi in Japan, and it streams worldwide on Crunchyroll with an English dub. Now its creditless ending is out: "Hoshiakari" (星灯) by Kawaguchi Yurina went up on the official site this week, right as the song hit digital stores. It's the first full look at the quiet side of a show that has been running on pure spectacle. And if you've seen the song called "Seira" elsewhere, that's not its name. The official site spells out the reading, and it matters for anyone trying to find the track.
Magic Knight Rayearth 2026 Creditless Ending: "Hoshiakari" by Kawaguchi Yurina
The ending theme is "星灯" by Kawaguchi Yurina, and the official music page gives its reading as Hoshiakari, roughly "star glow." Several English listings romanize it as "Seira," which is a guess at the kanji, not the official title. Search "Hoshiakari Kawaguchi Yurina" and you'll find the actual song.
- Lyrics: Katsuhiko Sugiyama
- Composition and arrangement: Gary Jeon
- Digital release: Thursday, October 15, 2026 (Japan time)
The video opens on Hikaru, Umi and Fuu at the seashore at night, watching the waves glitter, then moves through Emeraude and the rest of the cast set against sweeping landscapes. It's calm and a little sad, the opposite of the opening's battle energy, and it gives the three girls a quiet moment together that the story itself rarely allows them.
Kawaguchi Yurina calls herself a fan of the original manga, and her comment on the official site describes the series as having both the warmth of a sunny spot and the pull of the deep sea. That's a fair description of Rayearth: a bright adventure with something much darker under it. The song is built to sit in that gap after each episode.
The opening got its creditless video first, on October 10. "Otome no Tsurugi" (乙女の剣, "The Maiden's Sword") by Toaka, written and composed by Toaka and arranged by Ryo Eguchi, then went out digitally on October 14. English sites often list it as "Otome no Ken," but the official reading is Otome no Tsurugi.
The biggest surprise of the soundtrack wasn't in the credits at all. Episode 1 used "Yuzurenai Negai" by Naomi Tamura, the opening of the 1994 anime, as an insert song. For older fans, that single choice says more about this remake's intentions than any trailer did. But first, the practical question: where can you actually watch it?
Magic Knight Rayearth 2026 Release Date and Where to Watch
The anime started on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, airing every Wednesday at 23:45 JST in TV Asahi's "IMAnimation W" slot. The official site confirms it runs for two consecutive cours, so it stays on air into 2027.
Crunchyroll vs. Netflix: Where to Watch Magic Knight Rayearth 2026
Outside Japan, the answer is Crunchyroll. It streams the series in North and South America, Europe, Africa, Oceania, the Middle East, the CIS (excluding Russia and Belarus), Southeast Asia and Korea, with English subtitles and an English dub. There's no Netflix release announced, so if you're searching "Magic Knight Rayearth 2026 Netflix," Crunchyroll is where to go.
In Japan, it's on more than 20 services, including ABEMA, U-NEXT, Prime Video, d Anime Store, DMM TV, Hulu and Lemino, with new episodes rolling out from Thursdays at 0:15 JST.
Broadcast Time & Episode Rollout
Crunchyroll releases new episodes on Wednesdays at 8:30 a.m. PT, about 45 minutes after the TV Asahi broadcast. Here's how that lands around the world:
| Region | New episode on Crunchyroll |
|---|---|
| US Pacific (PDT) | Wednesday, 8:30 a.m. |
| US Eastern (EDT) | Wednesday, 11:30 a.m. |
| UTC | Wednesday, 15:30 |
| UK (BST) | Wednesday, 16:30 |
| Central Europe (CEST) | Wednesday, 17:30 |
| Japan (JST) | Thursday, 0:30 |
Clocks change in Europe on October 25 and in the US on November 1, so check Crunchyroll's own listing after those dates. In Japan, the show also airs on Asahi Broadcasting (ABC TV) on Wednesdays at 25:03 (1:03 a.m. Thursday), on AT-X from October 11 (Sundays at 21:30) and on Animax from November 7 (Saturdays at 22:00).
How Many Episodes Will Magic Knight Rayearth 2026 Have?
The official site confirms two consecutive cours. Two cours usually means about 24 episodes, and several English outlets report 24, but the official site doesn't list an exact count yet. That length matters, because it decides how much of CLAMP's story this version can cover. To see why, you have to look at what came before.
Is Magic Knight Rayearth 2026 a Remake? 1994 vs. 2026
Yes. Magic Knight Rayearth 2026 is a brand-new adaptation of CLAMP's manga, made for the franchise's 30th anniversary and starting the story from the beginning. You don't need to have seen the 1994 anime to follow it.
The original TV anime aired from October 1994 to November 1995 on Yomiuri TV, directed by Toshihiro Hirano at Tokyo Movie Shinsha (now TMS Entertainment), and ran for 49 episodes across two seasons. The 2026 version comes from TMS again, with animation by E&H production.
| 1994 anime | 2026 anime | |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese broadcast | Yomiuri TV, Oct 1994 – Nov 1995 | TV Asahi, from Oct 7, 2026 |
| Length | 49 episodes, two seasons | Two consecutive cours |
| Animation | Tokyo Movie Shinsha | E&H production |
| Director | Toshihiro Hirano | Yui Miura |
| Opening | "Yuzurenai Negai" (Naomi Tamura) | "Otome no Tsurugi" (Toaka) |
| Hikaru / Umi / Fuu | Original cast | Ayane Sakura / Rumi Okubo / Rie Takahashi |
The new team clearly respects the old one. Naomi Tamura, the voice of the 1994 opening, wrote on the official site that the original had a "big plot twist" and that a new battle is starting now. We won't spoil it here, and if you don't know it, try not to look it up. The 2026 version has the chance to hit first-time viewers with it all over again. Whether it lands depends on the three girls at the center of it.
Magic Knight Rayearth 2026 Characters and Voice Actors
On a school field trip to Tokyo Tower, three eighth-graders from three different schools are suddenly summoned to Cephiro, a world kept peaceful by the prayers of Princess Emeraude. Emeraude has been taken captive, and the girls learn that she called them to save her world as the legendary Magic Knights. The official tagline: "a believing heart becomes power."
Hikaru Shidou (CV: Ayane Sakura)
The fiery, kendo-trained heart of the trio, who throws herself into Cephiro's fight before she fully understands it. Ayane Sakura gives her the energy the role needs.
Umi Ryuuzaki (CV: Rumi Okubo)
A fencer with a sharp tongue, and the one most openly fed up with being dragged into another world. Her complaints hide a lot of loyalty.
Fuu Hououji (CV: Rie Takahashi)
Polite, calm and the sharpest strategist of the three, with an archer's eye for the shot nobody else sees.
Princess Emeraude (CV: Saori Hayami)
The princess whose prayers hold Cephiro together, now imprisoned, and the one who summoned the girls in the first place.
Zagato (CV: Yuki Ono)
Once the high priest sworn to protect Emeraude, now the man said to have imprisoned her. "Said to have" is the official site's own wording.
Mokona (CV: Mika Kikuchi)
The round, white creature entrusted to the girls by the master mage Clef, and their travel companion across Cephiro. CLAMP fans will recognize it from across the CLAMP universe.
The rest of the cast is just as stacked. Yuki Kaji plays the master mage Clef, Emiri Kato plays Presea and Yoshitsugu Matsuoka plays Ferio. On Zagato's side, Mamiko Noto plays the sorceress Alcyone, who is devoted to Zagato; Ayumu Murase plays the summoner Ascot; Hitomi Ueda plays the illusionist Caldina, who talks with an Osaka-style accent and treats Ascot like a little brother; and Hiroki Yasumoto plays Lafarga, Emeraude's former guard captain, now under Zagato's spell.
Behind the camera, Yui Miura directs, Shigeru Murakoshi handles series composition and Satomi Watabe designs the characters. The music is by Yuki Kajiura, Takumi Ozawa and Shiho Terada. A team like that sets expectations high, so the real question is whether the first episodes deliver.
Is Rayearth Worth Watching? Episode 1 and 2 Impressions
Two episodes in, yes. Here's what I thought of each one.
Episode 1: The 90s Already Figured Out Isekai
Hot take: the 90s already figured out isekai. The 2010s just mass-produced it.
Magic Knight Rayearth. Fushigi Yuugi. El-Hazard. The Vision of Escaflowne. Those Who Hunt Elves. Digimon Adventure. Monster Rancher. Now and Then, Here and There. (Maybe even The Twelve Kingdoms.)
By the end of the decade, we'd already seen transported heroes, magical fantasy worlds, chosen ones, romance, comedy, monster companions, mecha and brutally dark deconstructions.
The big difference is that 90s isekai didn't feel like a genre checklist yet. Every series seemed to ask, "What crazy story can we tell with someone trapped in another world?" Modern isekai often asks, "Okay, what's his cheat skill?" lol
Episode 2: Alcyone, Presea and a Lot of Fluff
This part covers what happens in episode 2. If you haven't watched it yet, skip ahead to the manga guide below.
Now that's the opening narration you would expect from a high-fantasy anime epic! And the OP is equally fitting, as a beautiful and mythic theme plays out over the girls' adventures in Cephiro as they encounter allies, battle villains, and also... mecha!
Zagato wasn't the only traitor they had to worry about. Alcyone was Guru Clef's former student, meant to be a loyal sorceress to Emeraude, and now she's out to kill the Magic Knights. You have to give her credit, though: she knows her abilities well enough not to fight a battle she can't win against her mentor, and she prioritizes completing her mission.
Good job, Umi, keeping team morale up by becoming Clef's hype-man! And Fuu keeps a rational, stable head that keeps the girls on mission. I love how they're about to die and Fuu is only mildly bothered that this doesn't fit typical RPG enemy progression.
But while they don't have weapons, they DO have magic, as Hikaru unleashes FLAME ARROWS to deliver a roasted Alcyone!
Fuu, that's not pinching Umi's cheeks, that's stretching them for all they're worth! Which is adorable, mind you, but still.
Hikaru is great with animals, of both the normal and fantastical variety. She practically grew up with her dog Hikari as a brother, after all! I felt bad for the Gryphon when the girls left, though. He seems to get really lonely.
Zagato has definitely mastered villain aura farming as he confronts both Clef and Emeraude over the futility of banking on the girls to revive the Rune-Gods and become the legendary Magic Knights. But why HAS he turned to the dark side and consigned Cephiro to ruin?
Welp, if it's that easy to open Presea's (Emiri Kato!) front door, they may as well waltz in! But instead of Presea, the girls find... Mokona (Mika Kikuchi!), an adorable ball of fluff! Less cute: the girls all getting caught in a cage!
Enter Presea! An artisan with a stellar ponytail, amazing thighs, an ojousama laugh, and a real love of thinking up ways to torture anyone who gets on her bad side. The girls walked into her ongoing prank war with Mokona and now have to fight accusations of being home invaders. Umi does NOT deal well with quirky girls.
But if they were able to get in, that must mean they MUST be the Magic Knights of legend! And hopefully now they can count on Presea's help.
The ED is absolutely serene, with pretty visuals of the whole cast!
If two episodes have you hooked, the good news is that the story behind them is short enough to read in a weekend.
Manga Guide: Where the Anime Comes From
Magic Knight Rayearth is a CLAMP manga serialized in Kodansha's Nakayoshi from 1993 to 1996. It's a short series of six volumes in two parts, and it's available in English from Kodansha.
That shortness is good news for this anime. Two cours give the new version much more room per chapter than a typical adaptation gets, and the 1994 anime needed two seasons to reach its ending. The staff hasn't said how far this version will go. If you want to read ahead, start from volume 1: the anime begins at the very start of the story.
Frequently Asked Questions About Magic Knight Rayearth 2026
Is Magic Knight Rayearth 2026 a remake?
Yes. It's a new TV anime adaptation of CLAMP's manga, made for the franchise's 30th anniversary and starting the story from the beginning, so you don't need to know the 1994 anime.
Is Rayearth a magical girl anime?
Partly. It was serialized in the girls' magazine Nakayoshi and follows three girls who gain magic, but it mixes that with fantasy adventure and giant-robot battles, so it's usually described as a fantasy mecha series rather than a classic magical girl show.
How many episodes of Magic Knight Rayearth are there?
The 1994 anime has 49 episodes across two seasons. The 2026 anime runs for two consecutive cours, which usually means about 24 episodes, but the official site hasn't listed an exact count.
Who sings the ending song of Magic Knight Rayearth 2026?
The ending theme is "Hoshiakari" (星灯) by Kawaguchi Yurina, released digitally on October 15, 2026. The opening is "Otome no Tsurugi" by Toaka.
Where can I watch Magic Knight Rayearth 2026 with an English dub?
Crunchyroll streams it with English subtitles and an English dub, with new episodes on Wednesdays at 8:30 a.m. PT. There's no Netflix release announced.
Is Rayearth worth watching?
Yes. Two episodes in, it plays like the 90s isekai it helped define: a real story instead of a genre checklist, a villain with presence in Zagato, a fun trio of heroines and a serene ending. It's short, and the 2026 version is the easiest way in for new viewers.
Related Videos
Start with the creditless ending, then the creditless opening, then go back to the main PVs.
Three girls, one captive princess and a world that only holds together if they believe hard enough. See what else is airing in our Fall 2026 anime schedule, follow another underdog of the season in our Overgeared guide, or browse our anime reviews.
Sources: Magic Knight Rayearth official site (music, on air, staff and cast pages), Animate Times, Crunchyroll. Images ©CLAMP・ST／講談社・TMS・テレビ朝日.
Anime and manga fan writing honest reviews and industry news — one person, real opinions, no ghostwriting.
