Whoever Steals This Book is a very new anime film that you may not have heard of, but it’s one that looks like it deserves much attention indeed. It’s the anime adaptation of the 2020 novel of the same name by Nowaki Fukamidori, which also later received a manga adaptation in 2021. The entire premise of the story is basically a fantasy mystery involving the theft of a single, magical book that then unleashes a curse upon an entire town, trapping the populace in stories in a very The King in Yellow vein. The only hope for the town is the book-hating Mifuyu Mikuru (voiced by Rin Kataoka (JP)), and a mysterious girl named Mashiro (voiced by Sora Tamaki (JP)). Will she succeed? Alas, we shall have to wait to see the anime film to find out. Fortunately, we might not have that long to wait.

Crunchyroll is proud to announce that they have acquired the NA rights for the anime film Whoever Steals This Book. Alas, the announcement did not come with a theatrical release date for the anime film. All we know is that the anime film only just had its Japanese theatrical debut on December 26, 2025, so we might not have long to wait to see it in NA theaters, but that’s it. However, Crunchyroll does have an official trailer for it on YouTube, which you can also see below:

Whoever Steals This Book Soon Arriving in NA Shores?

I can already see a magical adventure, and I can sense yuri in this.

Honestly, this looks like a most promising anime film. And like many of you, I’d never heard of Whoever Steals This Book before seeing this bit of news. However, based on the trailer and the fact the novel it was based on was nominated for the 2021 Japan Booksellers’ Award, I do believe that we might have a sleeper hit here. And one starring a fantastical mystery that has a very strong hint of yuri to it, especially since the anime film stars two female main characters who establish a very strong bond with each other. I do believe this is one anime film that I will look forward to watching, whenever it makes its NA appearance.

What do you all think? Are you too interested in Whoever Steals This Book: an anime film that bears a startling resemblance to other stories like The Pagemaster? Tell us your anime thoughts in the comment section below.

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