is a Japanese web manga series written and illustrated by You Chiba. It began serialization on Shueisha's Shōnen Jump+ app and website in September 2022. Its chapters have been collected in 18 volumes as of August 2026. An anime television series adaptation produced by Sunrise and Felix Film is set to premiere in April 2027.
Plot The story takes place in , known as "the world's safest kindergarten". Hosting the children of politicians, celebrities, businessmen, and other VIPs, Kindergarten Noir protects them from would-be assassins and kidnappers by employing former criminals as teachers in exchange for reduced sentences. Rita, also known as Convict #999, is a former assassin who finds herself working at Kindergarten Noir—both to get a reduced sentence by acting as a bodyguard and to find a hot guy along the way.
Characters Kindergarten Noir
A 20-year old Dutch assassin known as "The Witch" who takes on a new identity as a kindergarten teacher to protect the children of world leaders at a school called Kindergarten Noir. Rita has a running gag where she falls in love at first sight with an assassin trying to harm the children, and asks them a series of questions, and if they answer them with a response Rita doesn't like they would get shot.
A 23-year old womanizing American swindler from Nevada who accepted the job of working in the kindergarten. He develops feelings for Rita early on.
Additionally, Kindergarten Noir utilizes a group of ten super-strong poodles who perfectly understand human language, possess razor-sharp teeth, and can track criminals by sniffing out the scent of their blood. The names of these ten poodles are , , , , , , , , , and .
New World Order
Others
Louis's father, who was a clergyman and an assassin. He was killed after failing a mission.
Media Manga Written and illustrated by You Chiba, the series began serialization on Shueisha's Shōnen Jump+ app and website on September 15, 2022. Initially starting publication in Jump+'s Rookies program as an "independent manga", in March 2023 Shueisha announced that it would become a full-fledged series. The series reached its final arc after a two-month break on March 27, 2025. As of August 2026, the series' 129 individual chapters have been collected in 18 volumes.
Shueisha's Manga Plus platform is publishing the series in English. At New York Comic Con 2024, Yen Press announced that they licensed the series for English print publication.
Volumes
Chapters not yet in tankōbon format These chapters have yet to be published in a volume. They were serialized on Shōnen Jump+.
Anime An anime television series adaptation was announced by Bandai Namco Filmworks on October 2, 2025. It will be produced by Sunrise and Felix Film and directed by Shinsuke Gomi, with characters designed by . The series is set to premiere in Q2 2027.
Reception The series ranked third in the 2023 Next Manga Award in the web manga category. The series ranked ninth on AnimeJapan's "Most Wanted Anime Adaptation" poll in 2024. The series ranked fifth in the 2025 edition of the poll.
References
Further reading
External links