Turkey! Time to Strike

Turkey! Time to Strike, also simply known in Japan as Turkey!, is an original Japanese anime television series about tenpin bowling and time traveling created by Tatsunoko Production under their Bakken Record label and Pony Canyon, set in the city of Chikuma, Nagano. It premiered in July 2025.

Turkey! Time to Strike
Key visual
Genre	Sports (bowling) Time travel
Created by	Bakken Record Pony Canyon
Anime television series
Directed by	Susumu Kudo
Written by	Naomi Hiruta
Music by	Yuki Hayashi
Studio	Bakken Record
Licensed by	Crunchyroll
Original network	Nippon TV, BS NTV, TSB
Original run	July 9, 2025 – present
Episodes	7

Plot

The bowling club of Ikkokukan High School in Nagano Prefecture consists of five members: club leader Mai Otonashi, first-year student Rina Godai, nervous Sayuri Ichinose, fashionable Nozomi Mitaka, and nerdy Nanase Nikaidō. During a match between Mai and Rina to persuade Rina against leaving, a bolt of lightning strikes a partially buried artifact at a nearby construction site, which affects Mai's bowling ball as she is about to bowl, dragging her away down the lane. As the rest of the club members attempt to pull Mai to safety, the ball sends the club back in time to the Sengoku period (1467–1615), where they are taken in by the young samurai Suguri Tokura, who they save from a group of bandits. After witnessing Suguri's sister, Sumomo, playing a game similar to bowling, the club attempts to return to the present by recreating the same conditions that sent them back in time.

Characters

Ikkokukan High School bowling club

Mai Otonashi (音無 麻衣, Otonashi Mai)

Voiced by: Hana Hishikawa^[1]

The president of the Ikkokukan High School bowling club. Mai has been a highly skilled bowler since she was a child. However, for reasons unknown, every time she scores a turkey, she immediately leaves snake eyes, always resulting in the club being eliminated in bowling tournaments.

Rina Godai (五代 利奈, Godai Rina)

Voiced by: Kana Ichinose^[1]

The club's most skilled bowler who rivals Mai. Rina takes bowling very seriously and is often frustrated with the club's lack of motivation to win tournaments, causing her to want to quit the club. She often clashes with other club members.

Sayuri Ichinose (一ノ瀬 さゆり, Ichinose Sayuri)

Voiced by: Haruki Iwata^[1]

A club member and one of Mai's childhood friends. Sayuri is a shy girl who always throws gutterballs. She later becomes friends with Suguri and learns that Suguri is a woman.

Nozomi Mitaka (三鷹 希, Mitaka Nozomi)

Voiced by: Yuuki Temma^[1]

A club member and one of Mia's childhood friends. Nozomi is more focused on her looks and gaining popularity than bowling.

Nanase Nikaidō (二階堂 七瀬, Nikaidō Nanase)

Voiced by: Ayasa Itō^[1]

A club member with no other ties to Mai. Nanase joined the club under the belief that associating with an athletic club will afford her better academic opportunities in the future. Once they travel to the past, she warns them to not make any changes so the future is not altered.

Tokura family

Suguri (傑里)

Voiced by: Kikuko Inoue^[2]

A boy soldier and local lord, who saves the lives of and is later saved by the club. Suguri invites the club to stay in a mansion, having been told they are traveling performers. It is later revealed that Suguri is a woman who has been posing as a man in order to be her family's heir.

Sumomo (寿桃)

Voiced by: Noriko Hidaka^[2]

The younger sister of Suguri, she plays a game similar to bowling. She correctly deduces that the club have traveled from the future. Mai later teaches her how to bowl. It is later revealed she is arranged to be married to the Washio clan's leader to ensure that the village remains under the protection of Washio.

Akebi (朱火)

Voiced by: Yūko Minaguchi^[2]

Anzu (庵珠)

Voiced by: Miki Itō^[2]

Suguri's younger sister who is angry at by the presence of the bowling club members, who have posed as travelling performers. She is later saved by Nozomi after she goes to retrieve goumi berries as a gift.

Natsume (夏夢)

Voiced by: Rei Sakuma^[2]

The older sister of Sumomu, who left with another man who came from the future.

Production and release

Turkey! Time to Strike is animated by Bakken Record, directed by Susumu Kudo and written by Naomi Hiruta, with Airi Takekawa serving as character designer, Yuki Hayashi composing the music, and Pony Canyon producing the music.^[3][4][5] The series premiered on July 9, 2025 on Nippon TV's AnichU [ja] programming block and other channels,^[6][7][a] and is released internationally on Crunchyroll.^[9] The opening theme song is "Hyakunichisou" performed by the five main cast members under the moniker "Ikkokukan High School Bowling Club, Nagano Prefecture", while the ending theme song is "Moshimo" performed by Taiyō to Odore, Tsukiyo ni Utae [ja].^[10] The ending was replaced in several episodes by insert songs: in episode 4, "Flashback" by Q.I.S.,^[11] in episode 6, "Sincerity Flower" by Aira Yūki^[12], in episode 7, "Strike Freedom!" by Azami.^[13]

Episodes

No.	Title [14]	Directed by [14]	Storyboarded by [14]	Original release date [a]
1	"Knock Down the Snake Eyes!" Transliteration: "Taose! Sunēku Ai" (Japanese: 倒せ！スネークアイ)	Susumu Kudō, Daisuke Naitō, Kyōsuke Katō	Susumu Kudō	July 9, 2025 (2025-07-09)
After Mai Otonashi's bowling club suffers another bowling tournament loss, the top performing member Rina Godai criticizes Mai and the rest of the club for not taking the sport seriously. Dissatisfied that Mai seems to have no intention of changing the club, Rina decides to quit, putting the club below the five minimum required members. Mai tries to convince Rina to give the club a second chance, and Rina only agrees on the condition that Mai can beat her in a bowling match. Mai and Rina face off, and they are both equally matched until Rina once again chokes on her third set and hits snake eyes like she does in all of her tournaments, which angers Rina again as she believes Mai is mocking her by throwing the match. Mai attempts to recover when lightning suddenly strikes an unearthed orb at an excavation site, causing Mai's bowling ball to glow and pull her into rift. Rina and the rest of the club try to rescue her but they are all pulled in. Mai then wakes up later only to find herself in the middle of a battlefield between two warring samurai armies.
2	"Lost, Outside the Spot" Transliteration: "Mayotte, Auto Supatto" (Japanese: 迷って、アウトスパット)	Daisuke Naitō	Tomoyuki Munehiro, Daisuke Naitō	July 16, 2025 (2025-07-16)
Mai and the club wake up on a battlefield between two samurai armies. Still confused about the situation, they manage to reunite with Rina before they are attacked by a group of bandits. A young samurai intervenes and holds off the bandits long enough for the girls to escape into the forest. Regrouping in the forest, the girls try to make sense of the situation. Nanase deduces that the battlefield is the site of their local bowling alley before it was built, and that they must have been sent back in time to the Sengoku period somehow. They then catch sight of the young samurai that helped them being captured by the bandits. Working together, the girls manage to distract he bandits while Mai knocks them out with her bowling ball, rescuing the young samurai. Suguri thanks the girls, while the girls make up a cover story that they are traveling performers. As thanks, Suguri takes them to the estate to stay the night where they encounter a young girl that resembles Mai playing a game similar to bowling.
3	"Lean on Your Balance Line" Transliteration: "Tayotte, Baransu Rain" (Japanese: 頼って、バランスライン)	Tatsurō Kawakami	Hiroaki Shimura, Tatsurō Kawakami	July 23, 2025 (2025-07-23)
Suguri introduces the girl as Sumomu, an eccentric older sister, who quickly befriends Mai. However, his younger sister Anzu is hostile to the group due to her having a traumatizing experience with traveling performers in the past. That night, Nanase theorizes that in order for the club to return to their own time, they need to recreate the conditions that sent them though time in the first place. Namely, they need to have Mai and Rina compete in a bowling match where they both score turkeys right when lightning strikes. Rina is skeptical of the plan since bowling alleys do not exist in the Sengoku era, but Mai is confident they will find a way and suggests they enjoy their time in this era while they wait for the next thunderstorm. During dinner, they learn that after Suguri's father, the previous lord, died, Suguri inherited the village. Sumomu has a way to prevent rival clans from attacking. Mai finds Sumomu playing her bowling-like game, but struggles to explain bowling without talking about future events. However, Sumomu reveals that she has already deduced Mai and her friends are from the future.
4	"The Chaotic Big Four" Transliteration: "Konran no Biggu fō" (Japanese: 混乱のビッグフォー)	Kyōsuke Katō	Kyōsuke Katō	July 30, 2025 (2025-07-30)
The girls wake up to find Mai leading the villagers in building a primitive bowling alley. When they confront her about this, she reveals that Sumomu knows they are from the future, as one year prior, another "traveling performer" from the future stopped by the village, and when he left to explore Sengoku Japan Sumomu's older sister Natsume left with him, which is what traumatized Anzu. Mai also mentions she promised to teach Sumomu about bowling in order to keep their secret. While Mai teaches Sumomu how to bowl, Rina encounters a mysterious masked girl that resembles her, while Nozomi gets angry at Anzu for harassing her. As night falls, the girls realize Rina is missing and go searching for her, and find a makeshift bowling alley in the forest that Rina had secretly built. A thunderstorm then begins to form, and Mai and Rina meet at the village bowling to recreate their bowling match. As they face off, Mai asks Rina why she is so obsessed with winning, and Rina replies it's the only way she feels she can belong in the club. Mai's bowling ball then glows and opens the time rift, but Rina is unable to reach it due to a fire. Rina accepts this, as she believes the club will leave her behind when they graduate anyways, as she has developed abandonment issues after her mother divorced and remarried. Mai the and others decide to give up on their chance to go home, reuniting with Rina and insisting that they all go home together.
5	"A Passing Hook Ball" Transliteration: "Surechigatte, Fukku Bōru" (Japanese: すれ違って、フックボール)	Tatsurō Kawakami	Tatsurō Kawakami	August 6, 2025 (2025-08-06)
The villagers rebuild the burnt down bowling alley while Nozomi grows anxious that her phone battery is running out. The girls then find out to their shock that since temperatures in the Sengoku period are much lower than modern times, lightning storms are far less likely, meaning they may have missed their once chance to go home for a whole year. Nanase theorizes if they jump off a high enough elevation, they can trigger the time rift, but Nozomi throws her bowling ball off a cliff to test it and it fails. Disheartened, Nozomi returns to the estate and ends up befriending Anzu. Anzu picks up an interest in Nozomi's phone, but accidentally drains most of its battery which angers Nozomi. Determined to make up with Nozomi, Anzu heads out to find goumi berries as a gift. Suguri and the girls search for Anzu after they realize she's missing, and Nozomi finds her trying to pick goumi berries from a cliff. Nozomi manages to save Anzu but they fall to the bottom of the ravine, where they are surrounded by wild dogs. Finding her bowling ball, Nozomi uses it to distract the dogs and leads Anzu to safety. The next day, Rina and Nozomi make amends with each other, with Rina admitting she appreciates everybody staying behind for her sake.
6	"Reverse Hook, Clear Across" Transliteration: "Tobikoete, Ribāsu Fukku" (Japanese: 飛び越えて、リバースフック)	Daisuke Naitō	Daisuke Naitō	August 13, 2025 (2025-08-13)
The girls witness a messenger from the Washio clan arrive at the village to inquire about the time rift, whose light had been witnessed, with Suguri claiming no knowledge of it. The messenger then also asks if Sumomu has begun to menstruate, which Suguri denies. The girls then learn that Sumomu is to wed to the head of the Washio clan, as part of a deal her father made to ensure the village would be under Washio's protection. Mai at first protests Sumomu marrying a man she has never met, but backs down when Sumomu assures her that she wants to go through with the marriage in order to protect the village. That night, Sayuri panics when she begins to menstruate, but Suguri helps her through it. Sayuri wonders how Suguri knew and is shocked to learn that Suguri is actually a girl. Suguri took on the identity of a man to pose as her family's heir. The next day, Suguri leads the villagers to ambush a group bandits, killing all of them except for one escapee. Sayuri is distraught at Suguri having killed other people without provocation, and blurts out that in the future, people don't need to take others' lives so easily. However, Suguri maintains that she would be willing to kill to protect those dear to her, including Sayuri. The surviving bandit then ambushes Suguri, forcing Sayuri to mortally wound him by throwing a rock at his head. Suguri finishes off the bandit, with Sayuri coming to terms with the fact killing is necessary in the Sengoku period. Suguri then reassures Sayuri, telling her that she is still a kind and strong person.
7	"Hold On to the Loft Ball" Transliteration: "Dakishimetai, Rofuto Bōru" (Japanese: 抱きしめたい、ロフトボール)	Susumu Kudō	Daisuke Naitō	August 20, 2025 (2025-08-20)
Sayuri tells the rest of the club about Suguri's true identity, and revealing they are from the future to her. This angers Nanase who reminds everybody that they are supposed to avoid changing the past as much as possible. At that moment, Natsume returns from her travels and overhears the girls, quickly deducing that they are from the future as well. Nanase confirms that the traveling performer she was with came from the future, but before she can explain what happened to him, Suguri arrives and mentions that Natsume, as the oldest sister, was supposed to be the one to marry into the Washio clan. However, Natsume refused and left the estate with the traveling performer from the future, leaving Sumomu to take her place instead. Nanase gets angry at Natsume for apparently palming off her responsibility to Sumomu and storms off. Natsume meets Nanase privately, where the latter confides she got angry because she felt her father abandoned her when he left home to dig wells for undeveloped countries. Natsume comments that he left to pursue his passion and that partings are inevitable, and Nanase admits she doesn't actually hate him for it. Natsume also reveals the traveling performer managed to return to his own time, having disappeared during the previous thunderstorm. Natsume then asks Nanase to help her find a way to protect their village invaders. Both Nanase and Mai come up with the idea to build a hot spring so the tourism it attracts will provide much needed wealth to the village. Nanase develops a primitive boring method she learned from her father, and comments how the "Sweetie" nickname Natsume learned from the traveling performer is the same one her father used to call her.

Reception

There is debate as to whether the series falls into the isekai genre. While it has been described as an isekai on some websites such as Anime News Network and Anime Feminist,^[15][16] others such as Anime UK News argue that Turkey! just falls under the time travel genre instead.^[17]

Notes

1. Nippon TV listed the series premiere at 25:29 on July 8, 2025, which is effectively July 9 at 1:29 a.m. JST.^[8]