Snowball Earth (Japanese: スノウボールアース, Hepburn: Sunoubōru Āsu) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yuhiro Tsujitsugu. It has been serialized in Shogakukan's seinen manga magazine Monthly Big Comic Spirits since January 2021. An anime television series adaptation produced by Studio Kai aired from April to June 2026. A second season has been announced.
Contents
Plot
Tetsuo Yabusame, a shy boy, and his giant robot Yukio fight against monsters that threaten Earth from outer space. After the final battle, Tetsuo returns to Earth, only to find it covered in snow and ice. Tetsuo resolves to overcome his shyness and save what remains of humanity.
Characters
Tetsuo Yabusame (流鏑馬鉄男, Yabusame Tetsuo)
Voiced by: Takuto Yoshinaga (Japanese); Griffin Burns (English)
An introverted, short-haired boy who pilots a giant robot named Yukio. Despite being Earth's legendary savior, he is a timid boy who struggles to communicate with others.
Yukio (ユキオ)
Voiced by: Daisuke Hirakawa (Japanese); Alejandro Saab (English)
A giant, anti-kaiju robot created by Tetsuo's father. Yukio was originally made to be a robot that defeats kaiju by exploding; however, Tetsuo sneaked in the control room and proved that Yukio is more than a tool.
Ao Nogi (乃木 蒼, Nogi Ao)
Voiced by: Ami Koshimizu (Japanese); Abby TrottEp. 2 credits (English)
A cheerful, white-haired survivor from the Mishima Mall. Due to a physical mutation from eating kaiju meat, she possesses the rare ability to telepathically control a bird-like kaiju.
Hagane Takimura (瀧村矧音, Takimura Hagane)
Voiced by: Konomi Tamura (Japanese); Madeline DorrohEp. 5 credits (English)
The eldest daughter of the Takimura family, she is a talented engineer developing weapons to fight kaiju.
Isseki Sagami (相模 逸石, Sagami Isseki)
Voiced by: Tomokazu Sugita (Japanese); Kellen GoffEp. 5 credits (English)
A ruthless and intensely jealous leader of VIERDE, known formally as Colonel Sagami. He has the ability to control Hercules, a powerful kaiju.
Tamiya Sakurai (桜井多 見哉, Sakurai Tamiya)
Voiced by: Tomohiro Ōno (Japanese); Darius Marquis JohnsonEp. 5 credits (English)
A member of VIERDE. He belongs to the elite generation of superhumans trained by Colonel Sagami. He can control Eros, a sniper-class kaiju.
Yuma Uzuki (卯月 ゆま, Uzuki Yuma)
Voiced by: Manami Narahira (Japanese); Aria SaltiniEp. 5 credits (English)
A member of VIERDE. A dedicated person who has strong admiration for Colonel Sagami. She can control Artemis, an observation kaiju.
Otoichi Kinoe (甲 乙一, Kinoe Otoichi)
Voiced by: Anna Nagase (Japanese); Laura StahlEp. 5 credits (English)
A high ranking officer and strategist of VIERDE. He can control Hermes, a high speed kaiju.
Riko Akagi (赤城 莉子, Akagi Riko)
Voiced by: Maki Kawase (Japanese); Jennifer Sun BellEp. 5 credits (English)
A member of VIERDE. Riko can control Aphrodite.
Nayuta Izumi (泉那 由他, Izumi Nayuta)
Voiced by: Kengo Kawanishi (Japanese); Kyle McCarleyEp. 6 credits (English)
A member of VIERDE. He can control Ares, a brawler kaiju.
Makoto Saionji (西園寺 真琴, Saionji Makoto)
Voiced by: Chitose Morinaga (Japanese); Anne YatcoEp. 6 credits (English)
A member of VIERDE. He can control Hephaestus, also known as "The Commander's Cauldron".
Media
Manga
Written and illustrated by Yuhiro Tsujitsugu, Snowball Earth has been serialized in Shogakukan's seinen manga magazine Monthly Big Comic Spirits since January 27, 2021. Shogakukan has collected its chapters into individual tankōbon volumes. The first volume was released on July 30, 2021. As of April 1, 2026, eleven volumes have been released.
In June 2023, Viz Media announced that they have licensed the manga for an English release in North America, and the first volume was released on April 16, 2024.
Anime
An anime television series adaptation was announced on July 17, 2025. The series was produced by Studio Kai and directed by Munehisa Sakai, with Takeshi Iwata serving as assistant director, Shigeru Murakoshi handling series composition, Toshiya Kono designing the characters and serving as chief animation director, and Tatsuya Kato, Hiroaki Tsutsumi and Yuki Kanesaka composing the music. It aired from April 3 to June 26, 2026, on the Friday Anime Night programming block on Nippon TV and its affiliates. The opening theme song is "Zero", performed by Tuki, while the ending theme song is "Ima Kono Mune ni Tagiru no wa" (今この胸に滾るのは; 'What is Surging in My Heart Now'), performed by Ai Higuchi. Crunchyroll, Disney+ (internationally), and Hulu (in the United States) are streaming the series. Muse Communication licensed the series in South and Southeast Asia.
Following the airing of the final episode of the first season, a second season was announced.
Reception
The manga was recommended by animator and director Hideaki Anno, video game creator Hideo Kojima, and manga artist One.