Sentenced to Be a Hero
Sentenced to Be a Hero: The Prison Records of Penal Hero Unit 9004 is a Japanese light novel series written by Rocket Shōkai and illustrated by Mephisto. It began serialization as a web novel published on Kakuyomu in October 2020. It began publication as a light novel under ASCII Media Works' Dengeki no Shin Bungei light novel imprint in September 2021. A manga adaptation began serialization in ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Comic Regulus web magazine in March 2022.
An anime television series adaptation produced by Studio Kai premiered in January 2026.Plot
Set in a world where individuals convicted of serious crimes are forced into compulsory service as "Heroes", frontline combatants tasked with fighting demonic forces that threaten humanity. The story follows Xylo Forbartz, a former knight commander who's been convicted of killing a goddess and receives a hero sentence in place of execution, binding him to a brutal system that treats heroes as disposable assets rather than saviors.
Xylo is repeatedly dispatched to the front lines as leader of Penal Hero Unit 9004 in the endless war against the demon lords. The heroes are frequently killed in battle and resurrected, allowing them to be redeployed endlessly as expendable weapons. He meets Teoritta, a mysterious sword goddess with her own plans. In order to take revenge on those who set him up and break the cycle of death, he makes a pact with the goddess and starts a rebellion against their captors.Characters
Main characters
;Xylo Forbartz
;TeorittaHeroes
;Dotta Luzulas
;Venetim Leopool
;Norgalle Senridge
;Tatsuya
;Tsav
;Jayce Partiract
;Neely
;RhynoHoly Knights
;Patausche KiviaDemon Lords
;Awd Goggie
;Lotus
;IblisOther characters
;Frenci MastiboltMedia
Light novel
Written by Rocket Shōkai, Sentenced to Be a Hero: The Prison Records of Penal Hero Unit 9004 began serialization as a web novel published on the Kakuyomu website. It was later acquired by ASCII Media Works who began publishing it as a light novel with illustrations by Mephisto under their Dengeki no Shin Bungei light novel imprint. Seven volumes have been released as of January 17, 2025. The light novels are licensed in English by Yen Press.Manga
A manga adaptation illustrated by Natsumi Inoue began serialization in ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Comic Regulus web magazine on March 25, 2022. It has been collected in two volumes as of April 26, 2024. The manga adaptation is published digitally in English on Kadokawa's BookWalker website. In December 2025, Yen Press announced that they would begin releasing the manga in volume form in June 2026.Anime
An anime adaptation was announced at the Dengeki Bunko 30th Anniversary event on July 16, 2023, which was later confirmed to be a television series produced by Studio Kai and directed by Hiroyuki Takashima, with Yoshitake Nakakōji serving as assistant director, Kenta Ihara handling series composition, Takeshi Noda designing the characters, and Shunsuke Takizawa composing the music. The series was initially scheduled for October 2025, but was later delayed in order to further improve the series' quality, which eventually premiered on January 3, 2026, on Tokyo MX and other networks. The opening theme song is "Kill the Noise", performed by Spyair. Crunchyroll is streaming the series. Medialink licensed the series for streaming on Ani-One Asia's YouTube channel.Episodes
Reception
In the 2023 edition of the Kono [Light Novel ga Sugoi!] guidebook, the series ranked third in the category.