Black Bullet Author Reveals Burnout After 11-Year Hiatus
After 11 years of virtually complete silence, Shiden Kanzaki, the author of Black Bullet, has finally returned to speak with fans. And the reason behind his long absence is much more serious than simply taking a break from his career: the writer revealed that he went through a period of extreme overwork and burnout following the 2014 anime adaptation.
His return came after the announcement of Black Bullet: New World Order, a reboot of the light novel series that also promises to rewrite important parts of the original story.
Black Bullet Author Reveals What Happened After the Anime
The last significant posts from Shiden Kanzaki on X before his lengthy disappearance were made in 2015.
At the time, the author revealed that he was dealing with an enormous amount of stress. The production of the Black Bullet anime, which premiered in 2014, had placed an extremely heavy workload on him.
And there was an important detail: this was the first anime adaptation for both Kanzaki and his editor.
The dream of seeing his own work turned into an anime had finally come true. But apparently, the emotional toll of that achievement was extremely high.
Kanzaki explained that his schedule had become so overwhelming that he eventually suffered a “complete meltdown.”
Shortly afterward, still in 2015, he said that he was doing better. Even so, the author virtually disappeared from online spaces, leaving many fans worried about what had happened to him.
When The Dream Became A Source Of Exhaustion
Now, in 2026, Kanzaki has explained more about what he was going through during that period. According to the author, although he had achieved his dream of seeing Black Bullet receive an anime adaptation, he eventually lost sight of his own goals and found himself unsure of what to do next.
The 2015 posts were written shortly after he was finally freed from that extremely demanding schedule.
And then something that may sound contradictory happened: after spending so long working under intense pressure, the sudden change in pace also contributed to his feelings of exhaustion.
In other words, it wasn’t simply a case of “the anime ended and the author disappeared.”
There was a process of exhaustion, losing his sense of direction, and burnout behind his withdrawal.
The good news is that Kanzaki made a point of reassuring fans. He said that the situation has been resolved and that he is feeling much better now.
Black Bullet: New World Order Will Reboot The Story
Kanzaki’s return wasn’t a coincidence.
The author came back specifically to talk about Black Bullet: New World Order, a new project that has been in development for quite some time.
The project will serve as a kind of reboot of the original series and won’t simply be a re-release with a few minor changes.
All volumes of the original Black Bullet light novel have been revised to improve readability, while some have received much more substantial changes.
According to Kanzaki, certain parts have gone through a significant restructuring of the narrative.
Interestingly, the author himself doesn’t seem to think new readers need to go out of their way to read the old version.
Kanzaki said newcomers can choose either version of Black Bullet, but he believes New World Order is engaging enough through its writing that reading the original version is no longer particularly necessary.
He even considered removing the old light novel from digital bookstores.
However, he ultimately decided to keep the volumes available. Kanzaki said he doesn’t feel it is right to dictate how readers should enjoy his own work.
The original version also contains afterwords and comments that may be interesting for readers who want to explore that material.
There is, however, one exception.
The original Volume 7 is expected to be removed from digital bookstores, since New World Order will add a new volume that rewrites the events covered in that part of the story.
When Will The New Black Bullet Volumes Be Released?
Black Bullet: New World Order will have a surprisingly fast release schedule. Volumes 1 and 2 will be released simultaneously on November 10, 2026.
After that, four more volumes will be released consecutively, with a new volume arriving each month.
via Automaton