It has been announced that Ueda Hitomi 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 work that originated from the novel submission site "Let's Become a Novelist." Ueda will play Surena Lisandera, a dual-sword user nicknamed "Lisandera of the Dragon Twin Swords," a top-ranking adventurer of which there are only a few in the world. A character preview for Lisandera has also been released on YouTube.
Lisandera was once raised in her childhood by the family of protagonist Beryl Gardenant, a "countryside sword saint known only to those in the know," and was taught the basics of swordsmanship by Beryl. She feels a special gratitude towards Beryl.
Ueda said, "Actually, I saw an advertisement for the manga 'A Country Old Man Becomes a Sword Saint' and was drawn to Beryl-sensei, so I read it...! (This is my personal opinion and has nothing to do with the role.) So I'm really happy not only to have been able to participate in the audition, but also to have had this opportunity to be with Surena! I will do my best to portray her straightforwardness, as she acts like a strong person, but never forgets to be polite to her teacher! I look forward to working with you!"
The work is a light novel written by Shigeru Sagazaki and illustrated by Tetsuhiro Nabeshima. It is a classic fantasy about a powerful old man who is unconsciously unrivaled as a swordsman. Beryl Gardenant runs a small swordsmanship dojo in a rural village, and when his former student, Allusia, who rose to the position of head of the kingdom's knights at a young age, visits him, he ends up going to the royal capital as a special instructor for the knights... The comic adaptation by Kazuki Tohto was awarded the Piccoma Award 2023 and has been gaining popularity, with the series' total circulation exceeding 5.5 million copies.
The anime will be directed by Akio Kazumi and produced by Passione and Hayabusa Films. Hiroaki Hirata will play the protagonist Beryl Gardenant. It will be broadcast on TV Asahi's anime slot "IMAnimation" from April 2025.
◇Cast (titles omitted):
Beryl Gardenant: Hiroaki Hirata▽Aleucia Citrus: Nao Toyama▽Sreena Lysandera: Hitomi Ueda
