The cooking battle anime Iron Wok Jan made its long-awaited debut on July 5, 2026. This marks the first-ever television anime adaptation of Shinji Saijyo’s legendary cooking manga, which originally ran in Weekly Shonen Champion from 1995 to 2000. The series follows Jan Akiyama, a 16-year-old Chinese cuisine prodigy who believes cooking is a battle and stops at nothing to crush his opponents.
Episode 1 introduced viewers to the intense world of high-stakes Chinese cooking and the rivalry between Jan and Kiriko Gobancho. Now fans are waiting for Episode 2 to continue the culinary showdown. Here is everything you need to know about the next episode, including when it releases, where to watch it, and what happened in the premiere.
Iron Wok Jan Episode 2 Release Date and Time
Iron Wok Jan Episode 2 releases on Sunday, July 12, 2026. The show follows a weekly broadcast schedule.
The anime airs on TV Tokyo and its affiliates at 5:30 p.m. JST every Sunday. For viewers around the world, the release times are:
- Japan (JST): July 12, 5:30 PM
- United States (ET): July 12, 4:30 AM
- United Kingdom (BST): July 12, 9:30 AM
- Europe (CEST): July 12, 10:30 AM
- India (IST): July 12, 2:00 PM
Episodes are expected to be roughly 25 minutes long, which is standard for this type of anime. The series has been confirmed to have 12 episodes in total.
Where to Stream Iron Wok Jan Episode 2
Crunchyroll is the official streaming platform for Iron Wok Jan worldwide. The platform offers the show with English subtitles. Crunchyroll streams the series in North America, Central America, South America, Europe, Africa, Oceania, the Middle East, and CIS.
The show is also available through the Crunchyroll Amazon Channel on Amazon Prime Video. In Japan, the series broadcasts on TV Tokyo and its affiliates.
Crunchyroll describes the show with the following synopsis:
Based on the hit manga of the same name, “Iron Wok Jan!” follows Jan, a devilish master chef of Chinese cuisine, who will stop at nothing to crush his opponents.
What Happened in Iron Wok Jan Episode 1
Episode 1 is titled “A Fiery Encounter” (Une rencontre enflammรฉe). The episode begins after a high-end Chinese restaurant in Ginza, Tokyo closes for the night. A young boy walks in and orders fried rice. After tasting it, he throws the fried rice into the trash can and shouts, “Is this supposed to be food? I shouldn’t have come! Akiyama is the best! Akiyama is the ‘King of Chinese Cuisine’!”
This boy is Jan Akiyama, the grandson of Kaiichiro Akiyama, the legendary “master of Chinese cuisine”. He arrives at the Gobancho restaurant to fulfill his grandfather’s wish of defeating his arch-nemesis, Mutsuju Gobancho. There he meets Kiriko Gobancho, the granddaughter of Mutsuju Gobancho.
The episode establishes the central conflict of the series. Jan believes cooking is about competition and uses ruthless methods to defeat his opponents. Kiriko believes cooking is about heart and moves customers with beautifully presented dishes. Their rivalry mirrors the feud between their grandfathers.
The premiere also introduced Takao Okonogi, Jan’s only true confidant. The episode ends with Jan beginning to work at the Gobancho restaurant alongside Kiriko and other chefs, bringing his fierce personality and battle-ready approach to Chinese cuisine into the kitchen.
Main Cast and Characters
Iron Wok Jan features a strong voice cast led by Kikunosuke Toya as the protagonist. Toya is known for voicing Denji in Chainsaw Man.
The main cast includes:
- Kikunosuke Toya as Jan Akiyama
- Ikumi Hasegawa as Kiriko Gobancho – known for Ikuyo Kita in Bocchi the Rock!
- Kohei Amasaki as Takao Okonogi
- Kenjiro Tsuda as the Narrator
Additional cast members include:
- Masuo Amada as Nichido Otani
- M.A.O as Celene Yang
- Takahiro Sakurai as Kei Sawada
- Taishi Murata as Tomohide Jun
- Yusuke Kobayashi as Yuji Kawahara
Actor Tomokazu Sugita has also joined the cast.
Production Staff and Details
Iron Wok Jan is produced by studio TROYCA. The creative team includes:
- Director: Ei Aoki (known for Fate/Zero)
- Series Composition: Makoto Uezu
- Character Design and Chief Animation Director: Masako Matsumoto
- Music: Tomoki Kikuya
- Sound Director: Jin Aketagawa
- Cooking Animation Directors: Atsushi Okuda and Chihiro Hanamura
- Action Animator: Ryuichi Makino
The production team has gone to great lengths to faithfully recreate the Chinese cuisine featured in the original manga. Takako Sato, an active coordinator in the Chinese culinary world, is supervising and coordinating the food elements. Noted culinary researcher Naoya Higuchi has joined as cooking science supervisor. Leading Chinese chefs from across Japan have gathered to aim for a complete recreation of the dishes.
The opening theme song is “Hien” (Fire Banquet) performed by the seven-member dance vocal group Genin wa Jibun ni Aru. The ending theme song is “Nakita Akuma” by EMUNIMIN.
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About the Series
Iron Wok Jan (Japanese: ้้ใฎใธใฃใณ๏ผ, Tetsunabe no Jan!) is based on the manga by Shinji Saijyo. The manga was serialized in Weekly Shonen Champion from 1995 to 2000. In 2025, the series celebrated its 30th anniversary. The total circulation of the franchise has exceeded 10 million copies.
The story follows Jan, a demonic Chinese cuisine chef who stops at nothing to defeat his opponents. It is a thrilling story where unconventional dishes and highly eccentric characters who blow past standard ethics transform cooking into a magical form of entertainment. This legendary series, which generated a passionate fan base as a groundbreaking cooking manga, is finally getting its first TV anime adaptation.
The protagonist Jan is a mysterious Chinese chef who suddenly appears at Gobanchou Hanten. He is the grandson of the legendary chef Kaiichiro Akiyama, known as the Supreme Ruler of Chinese Cuisine. Rigorously trained in the fundamentals of Chinese cooking by his grandfather from a young age, Jan has already reached an elite level at just 16 years old. With the motto “Cooking is a battle,” he will use any means necessary to defeat his opponents.
Kiriko Gobancho, in contrast, works in the kitchen as an apprentice in preparation for her future, though her cooking skills are already first rate. With the motto “Cooking is heart,” she moves customers with beautifully presented dishes featuring her specialty decorative cutting techniques. Proud as a chef, she frequently clashes with the rough-mannered Jan.
Voice actor Kikunosuke Toya shared his excitement about the project:
“Wait wait wait wait wait wait. Many of you probably wondered whether this series could really be adapted into an anime. But it really is happening. To all original fans, please rest assured. We are doing it exactly as it was in the manga. To an almost shocking degree. Just like the dishes Jan creates, this anime is packed with surprise, technique, and dedication. Please look forward to the broadcast.”
Ikumi Hasegawa, who voices Kiriko, also commented:
“I am Ikumi Hasegawa, and I play Kiriko Gobanchou. The cast announcement is finally here. I am so excited knowing that more information will continue to be revealed from here on. At the recording sessions, the cast could not stop reacting to what was happening. It is a lively and constantly thrilling atmosphere. I cannot wait to deliver this series to everyone as soon as possible. Please do not miss it.”
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