News

Tōken Ranbu: Hanamaru TV Anime's Ad Reveals October 2 Debut

The official website for the Tōken Ranbu: Hanamaru television anime began streaming a 15-second ad for the series on Sunday that reveals the show's October 2 premiere. The show will premiere on TOKYO MX on October 2 at 24:00 (effectively October 3 at 12:00 a.m.), and will then air on on BS11 at 12:30 a.m., and then on Kansai TV at 2:05 a.m. (the second episode onward will air on Kansai TV at 1:55 a.m.). The series will also stream on DMM.com and the dAnime Store.

The video above also previews Mitsuhiro Ichiki and Toshiki Masuda's opening theme song "Hanamaru◎Hiyori!" (Hanamaru Weather). The show's website also revealed on Sunday the anime will have a different ending theme song for each episode, performed by the show's cast.

The show stars:

• Mitsuhiro Ichiki as Yamatonokami Yasusada
• Toshiki Masuda as Kashū Kiyomitsu
• Tarusuke Shingaki as Heshikiri Hasebe
• Daiki Yamashita as Imanotsurugi
• Reona Irie as Maeda Tōshirō
• Junji Majima as Nikkari Aoe
• Kazuyuki Okitsu as Hachisuka Kotetsu
• Kento Hama as Mutsunokami Yoshiyuki
• Sōma Saitō as Namazuo Toushirou
• Kaito Ishikawa as Kasen Kanesada
• Yūki Tai as Sōza Samonji
• Seiichirō Yamashita as Yagen Toushirō
• Takuya Satō as Shokudaikiri Mitsutada
• Yūta Kasuya as Gokotai
• Tomoaki Maeno as Yamanbagiri Kunihiro
• Ryota Ohsaka as Shishiō
• Hidenori Takahashi as Ishikirimaru

The staff describe the anime as follows:

The year is 2205. The "historical revisionists" have begun attacks on the past in their plot to change history. The Saniwa, who have been charged with protecting history, can imbue life into objects. Strongest among these are the Tōken Danshi. The story centers around their cheerful lives.

Takashi Naoya (Luck & Logic co-director, Selector Infected Wixoss animation director) is directing the series at Doga Kobo. Junichirō Taniguchi (Natsuyuki Rendezvous, Prison School) is designing the characters, and Pierre Sugiura (Barakamon) is writing and overseeing the scripts. Kenji Kawai (Ghost in the Shell, Eden of the East, Ranma ½) is composing the music.

ufotable is producing another anime adaptation of the game tentatively titled Tōken Ranbu, which is slated for 2017.

DMM's Tōken Ranbu "sword personification training game" takes famous swords from Japanese history and interprets them as bishōnen. Nitroplus designed the characters and scenario. The game launched in Japan last year, and it has more than 1.5 million registered users. The game has acquired a large female fanbase and inspired a wide range of merchandise, as well as several manga and stage productions.