It has been announced that Nao Toyama will be appearing as a voice actor in the TV anime series "From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman," which is based on a popular novel that originated on the novel submission website "Let's Become a Novelist." Toyama will play Allusia Citrus, the leader of the Liberio Knights, who has both a will of steel and the heart of a young girl. A PV for Allusia's character has also been released on YouTube.
Toyama, who plays Allusia, a "countryside sword saint known only to those in the know" who adores the main character Beryl Gardenant, commented, "While maintaining her cool demeanor, she really, really adores the teacher (laughs), and I think she is an adorable character because she secretly gets jealous and goes on a rampage. And above all, it's wonderful to see how the teacher, while remaining natural as a humble old man, overcomes difficult situations with brave swordsmanship when it matters most. She is a teacher who shows by example what it means to be an adult and to lead someone! Look forward to it!"
The work is a light novel written by Shigeru Sagazaki and illustrated by Tetsuhiro Nabeshima. It is a classic fantasy about an unrivaled swordsman who is unconsciously the strongest man. Beryl Gardenant runs a small swordsmanship dojo in a rural village, and is visited by his former student, Allusia, who rose to become the head of the kingdom's knights at a young age, and ends up going to the royal capital as a special instructor for the knights... This is the story. The comic adaptation by Kazuki Toda was selected for the Piccoma Award 2023 and has been gaining popularity, with the total number of copies of the series exceeding 5.5 million.
The anime will be directed by Akio Kasumi and produced by Passione and Hayabusa Films. Hiroaki Hirata will play the main character, Beryl Gardenant. It will be broadcast on TV Asahi's anime slot "IMAnimation" from April 2025.
