HIDIVEannounced today that it has licensed the upcomingNia Liston: The Merciless MaidenTV anime series for streaming as part of its Fall 2026 simulcast season, as well as a new multi-year extension agreement with Mainichi Broadcasting System (MBS).
Nia Liston: The Merciless Maidenwill also receive its North American premiere at Anime NYC 2026 on August 21, 2026 in Room 1A15-18 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center from 4:00 PM EST to 5:00 PM EST. The anime willbegin broadcasting in Japanon October 6, 2026.
An English-subtitled trailer of the anime was also released by HIDIVE. It may be region-locked and not viewable in certain territories.
The license acquisition ofNia Liston: The Merciless Maidenis part of a new multi-year expansion and partnership with Japanese TV station MBS and HIDIVE’s parent company AMC Global Media. Under the new agreement between both companies, HIDIVE will continue to exclusively distribute MBS’ upcoming anime series in select countries and territories outside Asia. This includes the U.S. and Canada, as well as the U.K., Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. The remaining titles from MBS’ upcoming programming slate will be announced later in the future.
MBS and HIDIVE first announced its partnership agreement in March 2023. The latter has streamed titles from MBS such asMy Gift Lvl 9999 Unlimited Gacha,I Parry Everything,The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen: from Villainess to Savior, andHell Mode: The Hardcore Gamer Dominates in Another World with Garbage Balancing.
Motoko Nakanishi(Love Is Indivisible by Twins, Summoned to Another World for a Second Time) is directing the anime series, withHaruta Segias assistant director,Gigaemon Ichikawa(Himitsu no AiPri) as series composer, andYuki ItoandKana Tosaokaas character designers.KONAMI animationis in charge of the animation production.
Meanwhile, the previously announced voice cast will star:
- • Honoka Inoueas Nia Liston
- • Fuka Izumias Rinokis Funk
- • Rina Honizumias Hildetora Altoir
- • Rina Hidakaas Reliared Silver
The action fantasy light novel series is written byKunon the Sorcerer Can SeeauthorUmikaze Minamino, with the initial illustrations being credited toJishakufor the first two volumes.Katana Canatalater took over as illustrator from the third volume onwards (the anime’s original character designer credit features both their names).
The light novels were first published under Hobby Japan’s HJ bunko label on September 30, 2022 and has released 11 volumes in Japan as of June 2026. The series began as a Shosetsuka ni Naro web novel from May 2019 to January 2021, where it was one of the award recipients of the HJ Shosetsu Taisho 2021 Zenki in the Shosetsuka ni Naro category.
The series also inspired a Square Enix-published manga adaptation byKabuto Kodaiin November 2022. It is available to read in English digitally on the Manga UP! Global service.
J-Novel Club licensed theNia Liston: The Merciless Maidenlight novels forEnglish digital release. It describes the synopsis as:
A great hero lies undefeated on her deathbed, regretting that she never found a foe who could take her down. She never intended to meet her fate anywhere other than on the battlefield, and her peaceful demise has her wishing desperately that things could have been different… But when she suddenly comes to in the body of the young, frail Nia Liston, she’s got an all-new fight ahead of her. Nia is a sickly child, meaning she has a long way to go before she’s in fighting form. Now that she’s been given a second shot at life, however, she’s determined to get what she wants. She’s going to live—and die—for battle this time! Make way for the Merciless Maiden!
