# Moonrise (ムーンライズ)
**Moonrise** (ムーンライズ) is a Japanese science fiction anime series that premiered exclusively on Netflix on April 10, 2025. It is an original work with a story by novelist and screenwriter Tou Ubukata (冲方丁), character concepts by manga artist [Hiromu Arakawa](https://www.edgepedia.org/hiromu-arakawa) (荒川弘), direction by Masashi Koizuka (肥塚正史), and animation by WIT STUDIO.[1](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/moonrise-premieres-april-10?pubDate=20250307) The series runs 18 episodes and depicts a war between Earth, governed by an international AI network, and a lunar population driven into poverty and rebellion by Earth's policies.[2](https://about.netflix.com/ja/news/moonrise-premieres-april-10)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Format | Original anime series, 18 episodes, Netflix worldwide exclusive from April 10, 2025[1](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/moonrise-premieres-april-10?pubDate=20250307) • [3](https://cho-animedia.jp/article/2025/04/10/51771.html) |
| Creative team | Story: Tou Ubukata; character concepts: Hiromu Arakawa; director, script, and series composition: Masashi Koizuka; animation: WIT STUDIO[1](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/moonrise-premieres-april-10?pubDate=20250307) • [3](https://cho-animedia.jp/article/2025/04/10/51771.html) |
| Setting | Year 2XXX; a loosely organized world government managed by the international AI network Sapientia[2](https://about.netflix.com/ja/news/moonrise-premieres-april-10) |
| Central conflict | Earth's moon development project exiles criminals and pollutants to the Moon, creating a gap between a peaceful Earth and an impoverished Moon that becomes a seed of war[2](https://about.netflix.com/ja/news/moonrise-premieres-april-10) |
| Main characters | Jack (Jacob Shadow), voiced by Chiaki Kobayashi, and his childhood friend Phil Ash, voiced by Yūto Uemura[2](https://about.netflix.com/ja/news/moonrise-premieres-april-10) |
| Theme song | "Daijoubu" (大丈夫), written and performed by AiNA THE END[1](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/moonrise-premieres-april-10?pubDate=20250307) |
| Rating | TV-MA (Common Sense Media); Netflix lists it as 16+ in Japan[4](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/moonrise) • [5](https://www.netflix.com/jp/title/81251383) |
## Spoilers
### Premise
The story is set in the late 21st century or later, a period the official materials give only as "year 2XXX." Humanity has established a loosely organized world government, and everything is managed by an international AI network called Sapientia. People live peaceful lives by faithfully following its rational judgments. Sapientia's moon development project, however, maintains Earth's tranquility by sending criminals and pollutants to the Moon, producing a stark divide between a comfortable Earth and a Moon forced into poverty. This disparity becomes a spark for war.[2](https://about.netflix.com/ja/news/moonrise-premieres-april-10)
The protagonist is Jack, full name Jacob Shadow, an heir to a major company whose life changes when a rebel attack from the Moon makes him a prime suspect in a crime and kills his family. Swearing revenge, he decides to travel to the Moon as an Earth Army investigator with comrades, targeting the leaders of the rebellion, only to find that the resistance leader is an unexpected person.[2](https://about.netflix.com/ja/news/moonrise-premieres-april-10) • [5](https://www.netflix.com/jp/title/81251383) His childhood friend Phil Ash is the series' second lead, and the two are described as "two protagonists" tossed about by fate.[2](https://about.netflix.com/ja/news/moonrise-premieres-april-10) The rebellion's Moon Chains forces move to seize Copernicus, and Jack's unit, guided by a character named Mary, witnesses the effects of the Earth-Moon conflict on the Moon's people.[5](https://www.netflix.com/jp/title/81251383)
## Production
**Origins.** The project began at WIT STUDIO when president George Wada, after hearing staff pitches, suggested to Koizuka that they try a space opera, following a conversation about the [Star Wars](https://www.edgepedia.org/star-wars) series. Wada had previously worked with Ubukata on [Psycho-Pass](https://www.edgepedia.org/psycho-pass) and Le Chevalier D'Eon, and that connection brought Ubukata into the project. Koizuka dates the start of planning to around the time he was directing [Attack on Titan](https://www.edgepedia.org/attack-on-titan) season 2, meaning the concept developed over several years before release.[3](https://cho-animedia.jp/article/2025/04/10/51771.html) The combination of WIT STUDIO, Ubukata, Arakawa, and Netflix was officially announced in June 2022.[6](https://note.com/note_sho/n/naa522af2b929)
Koizuka served as director, scriptwriter, and series composition lead, with Arakawa providing the original character designs. He described the work as WIT Studio's first space opera and the team's first original production made with Netflix.[3](https://cho-animedia.jp/article/2025/04/10/51771.html) • [1](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/moonrise-premieres-april-10?pubDate=20250307) Producer Ryoma Kawamura said the 18-episode run, longer than a single cour (one block of about 12–13 weekly anime episodes), required high quality throughout, and that he was brought in as the person at WIT most familiar with Netflix's production methods.[3](https://cho-animedia.jp/article/2025/04/10/51771.html) Koizuka said that raising the project as a television anime would have been difficult, and Netflix was the partner that offered to make the original project together.[3](https://cho-animedia.jp/article/2025/04/10/51771.html)
**Cast and music.** Jack is voiced by Chiaki Kobayashi, known for Mash Burnedead in Mashle and Stark in Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, and Phil by Yūto Uemura, known for Atsushi Nakajima in [Bungo Stray Dogs](https://www.edgepedia.org/bungo-stray-dogs) and Toya Setsuno in [My Hero Academia](https://www.edgepedia.org/my-hero-academia). AiNA THE END, performing as a solo artist after the dissolution of BiSH, wrote the lyrics and music of the theme song "Daijoubu" specifically for the series.[2](https://about.netflix.com/ja/news/moonrise-premieres-april-10)
## Reception
Viewer scores split notably by platform. As of August 2026, the aggregate site AniGems recorded a global score of 5.64/10 for the series, with [MyAnimeList](https://www.edgepedia.org/myanimelist) at 6.58/10 from about 11,000 voters, Bangumi at 4.00/10 from 357 voters, and Filmarks at 2.9/5 from 311 voters; MyAnimeList rated the series 2.6 points higher than Bangumi on a comparable 10-point scale.[7](https://www.anigems.com/ja/anime/38903) On Rotten Tomatoes the season held a Tomatometer of 49% from two critic reviews.[8](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/moonrise/s01)
**Praise for production values.** Reviewers consistently highlighted the visuals. The UK Anime Network found the production values sustained across all 18 episodes, with solid animation, digital effects, and CGI, and an impressive score and English dub.[9](https://www.uk-anime.net/Anime/Moonrise) A Netflix production video showcased the making of a battle against a mysterious giant organism called L-Zone on the lunar surface.[10](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncxc-_tuK7A)
**Criticism of the story.** The same reviews found the writing weaker than the craft. Common Sense Media called it a character drama that suffers from weak plot development, with many time jumps and slowly revealed secrets that make the central conflict hard to track.[4](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/moonrise) The UK Anime Network noted elements it found under-explained or drawn out, while crediting the series with interesting protagonists and antagonists on both sides of the war.[9](https://www.uk-anime.net/Anime/Moonrise) Gizmodo's review was titled "Netflix's Moonrise Anime Is a Gorgeous Space Opera, but Its Story Is a Mess," and its Japanese edition judged the action excellent while finding the scenario and political approach disappointing.[11](https://gizmodo.com/netflixs-moonrise-anime-is-a-gorgeous-space-opera-but-its-story-is-a-mess-2000588232) • [12](https://www.gizmodo.jp/article/moonrise_io9/) A Spanish-language outlet, by contrast, reported a 7.5 on IMDb and described the series as a hit with fans of space battles.[13](https://as.com/meristation/manga-y-anime/bombazo-para-los-fans-de-ghost-in-the-shell-el-mejor-anime-de-ciencia-ficcion-de-la-historia-vuelve-de-la-mano-de-los-creadores-de-dan-da-dan-n/)
## References
1. [Japanese Sci-Fi Animated Series 'Moonrise' Premieres April 10, About Netflix (March 7, 2025)](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/moonrise-premieres-april-10?pubDate=20250307)
2. [原作：冲方丁 × キャラクター原案：荒川弘 × 監督：肥塚正史が贈る、完全新作SFアニメーション「ムーンライズ」4月10日（木）世界配信決定！, About Netflix](https://about.netflix.com/ja/news/moonrise-premieres-april-10)
3. [Netflixシリーズ『ムーンライズ』冲方丁×荒川弘×WIT STUDIOが起こした化学反応― 肥塚正史監督＆河村崚磨Pインタビュー, 超！アニメディア (April 10, 2025)](https://cho-animedia.jp/article/2025/04/10/51771.html)
4. [Moonrise - Parents' Guide & TV Review, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/moonrise)
5. [ムーンライズ, Netflix official site](https://www.netflix.com/jp/title/81251383)
6. [『ムーンライズ 先行上映会』に行ってきました, note (しょう)](https://note.com/note_sho/n/naa522af2b929)
7. [ムーンライズ (Spring 2025) – Global Anime Score, AniGems](https://www.anigems.com/ja/anime/38903)
8. [Moonrise: Season 1, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/moonrise/s01)
9. [Moonrise, UK Anime Network (April 25, 2025)](https://www.uk-anime.net/Anime/Moonrise)
10. [『#ムーンライズ』VS. Lゾーン | アニメができるまで, Netflix Japan (YouTube, June 4, 2025)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncxc-_tuK7A)
11. [Netflix's Moonrise Anime Is a Gorgeous Space Opera, but Its Story Is a Mess, Gizmodo (April 11, 2025)](https://gizmodo.com/netflixs-moonrise-anime-is-a-gorgeous-space-opera-but-its-story-is-a-mess-2000588232)
12. [『ムーンライズ』は見事なスペースオペラ。だけどシナリオ面が惜しい, ギズモード・ジャパン](https://www.gizmodo.jp/article/moonrise_io9/)
13. [Llegó sin hacer ruido, pero este nuevo anime de ciencia ficción arrasa Netflix: 'Rebelión lunar', MeriStation (April 15, 2025)](https://as.com/meristation/manga-y-anime/bombazo-para-los-fans-de-ghost-in-the-shell-el-mejor-anime-de-ciencia-ficcion-de-la-historia-vuelve-de-la-mano-de-los-creadores-de-dan-da-dan-n/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Anime and manga › Anime series, episodes, and franchises › Anime television series, 2020s*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license