The official website of the television anime based on Satoshi Mizukami's manga "Sengoku Youko" has unveiled an exciting promotional video that immerses viewers in the anime's plot. In this preview, excerpts from the captivating musical themes were revealed: "Hibana" (Spark), performed by MindaRyn, as the opening, and "Yūyami no Uta" (Song of Twilight) by KEIKO, as the closing theme.
Notably, "Yūyami no Uta" marks Keiko's first musical contribution to an anime since the beginning of her solo career in May 2020. The song was composed by Yuki Kajiura, and KEIKO (also known as Keiko Kubota) was previously a member of the Kalafina trio, produced by Kajiura.
The anime is scheduled to premiere on January 10 on Tokyo MX, ABC TV, and Nagoya TV, and on January 12 on BS Asahi. It will air on Tokyo MX on Wednesdays at 24:00 (effectively Thursdays at midnight JST, or Wednesdays at 10:00 a.m. EST). Additionally, the anime had its worldwide premiere at Anime NYC on November 17.
The anime's story will be divided into two arcs: "Yo Naoshi Kyōdai-hen" (Brothers' World Reformation Arc) and "Sen Ma Konton-hen" (Chaos of the Thousand Demons Arc), spanning three cours (a quarter of a year) in a complete adaptation.
The stellar cast of the anime includes:
- Sōma Saitō as Jinka
- Yuki Takada as Tama
- Ryohei Kimura as Shinsuke
- Tomoyo Kurosawa as Shakugan
- Hiroki Nanami as Senya
- Maaya Uchida as Tsukiko
- Kenji Nomura as Jinun
- Aki Toyosaki as Nau
- Tetsu Inada as Doren
- Kazuki Miyagi as Resshin
- Ayahi Takagaki as Yama no Kami (Mountain God)
- Aina Suzuki as Rinzu
- Kenjiro Tsuda as Yazen
- Hiroki Tochi as Raido Zanzo
Masahiro Aizawa (known for Hakyū Hōshin Engi) directs the anime, while Jukki Hanada (known for Steins;Gate) handles the writing and supervision of the scripts. Yousuke Okuda (In the Heart of Kunoichi Tsubaki) takes on character design, and Evan Call (Violet Evergarden) leads the musical composition.
Additional team members include Shinpei Kobayashi for secondary character design, Yousuke Okuda, Shinpei Kobayashi, and Yohei Yaegashi as chief animation directors, and Shao Wei Zhang, Ke Wei Lin, and Hiroyuki Kodama for prop design. Shao Wei Zhang is in charge of Yami's design, Miu Miyamoto (RUFUS Studio) handles art, Miyuki Satō (Wish) manages color design, Daisuke Horino (Studio Twinkle) is responsible for cinematography, Hisashi Akimoto (T2 Studio) oversees 3DCG direction, Masayuki Kurosawa handles editing, and Satoki Iida manages sound.
Tokyopop has obtained the manga license, and its synopsis describes a world divided between humans and monsters called katawara. Tama, despite being a katawara, loves humans and vows to protect them from evil, even facing those of her own kind. Her brother Jinka, on the other hand, despite being mostly human, harbors hatred towards them. The siblings are joined by a cowardly swordsman named Shinsuke, who seeks to learn how to become strong.
Mizukami launched the manga in Mag Garden's Monthly Comic Blade magazine in 2007, later moving it to the magazine's website after it ceased publication in 2014. Mag Garden published the final compiled volume of the manga, volume 17, in 2016.
