It has been announced that the original TV anime series Negapo Jiangler, which has a fishing theme, will begin airing on TOKYO MX and other stations from October 3rd. Additional cast members have also been announced, including Tomatsu Haruka and Hirose Yuya. They will play staff members at the Everymart convenience store where the main character, Sasaki Tsunehiro, works. Tomatsu will play Ice, a model, cosplayer and part-time worker from Thailand who loves anime and manga, while Hirose will play Ice's younger brother, Alua.
Tomatsu commented, "I've always been interested in fishing, so I'm very happy to have had the opportunity to be involved with Negapo Jiangler at this time! Ice is a cheerful and mood-maker character who makes you want to be his friend! His appearance and expressions change depending on the situation, so it's fun to watch him and it was a lot of fun to act him out every time! I recommend this series to both fishing lovers and those who want to learn more about fishing! Look forward to it!"
Hirose said, "Arua is an international student, so it's cute that she speaks Japanese a little brokenly! She's very kind-hearted and a good cook, so if I were to marry someone like Arua, it would be great! (laughs) She and Ice are siblings, and the free-spirited Ice and I often get into a lot of fun together! (laughs) I had no experience fishing at all, so every recording session was a learning experience! I was shown an actual fishing rod, so it felt more familiar to me! Please look forward to the broadcast! And let's all go fishing together!!"
The official promotional video, featuring the main character Tsunehiro Sasaki and others, was released on YouTube, and featured the opening theme "Ito" by the band "Van de Shop" and the ending theme "Approval Desire" by 96Neko.
Van de Shop commented, "The song 'Ito' was created from the script for 'Negapoji Angler.' It's about fishing line, it's about intention. I think it's a unique and cool song that fits the story perfectly! We haven't seen the animation yet, so we're really looking forward to watching it in real time!" 96neko said, "I sang this song with the image of a person who has little contact with others and is passive towards themselves and others gradually becoming accustomed to a colorful world, and it's the kind of song you want to listen to when you want to take a break from your daily life. I sang this song with the image of a person who goes from being lonely to feeling refreshed and positive, so that it can be close to that chill sound. I don't know yet what kind of story the anime will tell, so I'm really looking forward to it starting to air! I hope everyone will look forward to it too." As the title "Angler" suggests, one of the themes of this work is fishing, and it is a human story of a young man who has lived a passive life with few connections to others, but changes through meeting various people and fishing. The film will be directed by Uemura Yasushi, known for "The Saga of Tanya the Evil," and produced by NUT, known for "The Saga of Tanya the Evil" and "Blue Giant." Mutsumi Iwanaka will play the protagonist, gloomy university student Sasaki Tsunehiro, Fairouz Ai will play Ayukawa Hana, a genius high school girl angler, and Ishikawa Kaito will play Tsutsujimori Takaaki, a caring man who looks after Tsunehiro.
◇Cast (titles omitted): Tsunehiro Sasaki: Mutsumi Iwanaka; Ayukawa Hana: Fairouz Ai; Tsutsujimori Takaaki: Ishikawa Kaito; Nishimori Kozue: Tsuchiya Rio; Machida: Tsuchida Dai; Fujishiro: Sugawara Masashi; Ice: Tomatsu Haruka; Arua: Hirose Yuya
