The Cat and the Dragon Starts a Week-Early ABEMA Stream

The Cat and the Dragon official key visual showing the title and a dragon in a forest

ABEMA announced on June 25, 2026, that The Cat and the Dragon will begin its first episode on Saturday, June 27, at 10:30 p.m. JST, giving viewers a one-week lead on the television rollout. The official website also says the series will move into regular TV broadcast in July 2026 and that general streaming begins on Saturday, July 4, at 9:00 p.m. JST.

What Was Announced

The key update is simple: fans can start watching the anime on ABEMA before the TV broadcast window opens. According to ABEMA's release, the first episode arrives on June 27 at 10:30 p.m. JST, with new episodes scheduled weekly on Saturdays at 9:30 p.m. JST. The official site's on-air page adds that the TV run begins in July on TOKYO MX, BS NTV, YTV, AT-X, and Nagasaki Cultural Broadcasting, while broader streaming follows on July 4 at 9:00 p.m. JST.

This matters because it gives the title a clearly defined launch ladder: early streaming first, TV broadcast next, and then wider distribution after that. For a new anime, that kind of pacing can make it easier for fans to follow along without waiting for the linear TV schedule.

Why It Matters

The Cat and the Dragon is not trying to sell itself as a loud, high-intensity fantasy. The official site describes it as a story about a dragon raised by cats, and the opening materials frame it as a warm, slightly bittersweet tale about a fire-breathing dragon, forest cats, and human relationships. That softer tone gives the series a different shape from the usual action-heavy seasonal premiere.

The rollout also shows how Japanese anime releases are often sequenced now. A platform premiere can build immediate conversation, while a television schedule keeps the project visible across several weeks. For readers outside Japan, that split is useful because it makes the first legal viewing window much easier to track.

Context for International Fans

The English title on the official site is already standardized as The Cat and the Dragon, which helps overseas readers find the same work across press materials, fan discussion, and platform listings. The story itself is easy to summarize but distinctive enough to remember: a dragon is raised by cats, lives with them in a deep forest, and is treated as part of their family.

That premise also fits a broader current in anime and manga culture where gentle fantasy and character-centered comfort stories sit alongside louder genre titles. If you follow new anime from outside Japan, this is the sort of release where a clean schedule announcement matters as much as the premise itself, because it tells you exactly when the first legal stream begins and when the television run follows.

What Happens Next

The immediate milestone is June 27, 2026, when ABEMA begins streaming the first episode at 10:30 p.m. JST. After that, the official site says the regular TV broadcast begins in July, and wider streaming starts on July 4 at 9:00 p.m. JST. If the production team publishes more cast, episode, or visual updates, those will likely appear first on the official website and the official social accounts linked there.

For now, this is a straightforward release: a new anime has its first viewing window, its TV schedule, and its wider streaming timing all laid out.

Sources

Information was checked on June 28, 2026 at 12:25 JST.

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