Kaya-chan Isn't Scary

Kaya-chan Isn't Scary is a Japanese supernatural horror manga series written and illustrated by Tarō Yuri. It began serialization on Shinchosha's Kurage Bunch manga website in April 2022. An anime television series adaptation produced by East Fish Studio premiered in January 2026.

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Plot

Kaya is an infamous problem child in her kindergarten, always causing trouble for her friends and teachers. However, when teacher Chie is put in charge of her, she discovers that Kaya is actually protecting the children from evil spirits that wish to bring harm to others. A story of a misunderstood hero follows.

Characters

Main Characters

;Kaya Satō / Kaya-chan
;Chie Hasumi / Chie-sensei
;Osamu Mob / Mobuo
;Namu Hirukomori / Nam

Kaya's Family

;Shizuo Satō / Kaya-Papa
;Mirai Satō / Kaya-Mama
;Nana Ebisumori
;Mutsu Ebisumori

Kindergarten

;Akira-sensei
;Chihiro-sensei
;Sakuya Maenuma / Saku-chan
;Kentarō Ise / Kenken
;Yuzu Tachibana / Yuzu-chan

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Tarō Yuri, Kaya-chan Isn't Scary began serialization on Shinchosha's Kurage Bunch manga website on April 1, 2022. The series' chapters have been collected into eight volumes as of January 2026.
In November 2024, Seven Seas Entertainment announced that they had licensed the series for English publication beginning in April 2025.

Anime

An anime television series adaptation was announced on November 1, 2024. It is produced by East Fish Studio and directed by Hiroshi Ikehata, with series composition handled by Shigeru Murakoshi, characters designed by Taro Yamada and Hiroyuki Moriguchi, and music composed by Kohta Yamamoto and Shun Narita. The series premiered on January 11, 2026, on TV Tokyo and its affiliates, and other networks. The opening theme song is "Maboroshi no Yukue", performed by, while the ending theme song is "Playmour", performed by Sak and Tao featuring Azusa Tachibana as her character Kaya-chan. Crunchyroll is streaming the series. Medialink licensed the series in Southeast Asia and Oceania for streaming on Ani-One Asia's YouTube channel. An English dub provided by Kadokawa premiered on the same day as the sub.