JO1's Ruki Shiroiwa takes on voice acting debut in the animated film "AS ONE"

It has been revealed that Ruki Shiroiwa of the global boy band "JO1" will be trying his hand at voice acting for the first time in the animated film "AS ONE" (directed by Shizuno Kobun, to be released on August 22nd). The film is based on the arcade game " Starwing Paradox " (Square Enix), whose character designs were handled by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto , who also worked on the " Evangelion " anime series, and Shiraiwa will play the main character, You. A special video featuring lines from Shiraiwa's voice as You has been released.

The main character, You, is a high school student on Earth who dreams of becoming a musician but is worried about his uncertain future. The production staff decided to cast him as the character after seeing the music video for "Himawari," an original song written and composed by Shiraiwa himself as the fourth installment of JO1's self-produced project "PLANJ."

Shiraiwa commented, "I was very surprised to hear that they contacted me after seeing my work ``Himawari'' and saying that I think you'd be a good fit for the main character, You, but I myself love watching anime so I was really happy. I had seen the information about the work released before my appearance was announced, and I was nervous to know that so many people were looking forward to it. But more than that, it just made me determined to make a great production. Although it was my first time trying voice acting, I was supported by those around me and did my best. It's an interesting story that I find myself drawn into no matter how many times I read it. I hope you look forward to the release of the film."

The movie will be directed by Shizuno, known for " Detective Conan : Crimson Love Letter" and will have a completely original story that takes place 20 years before the original. Sadamoto will be in charge of character design, and all the characters will be revamped. The story depicts the fate of two people who should never have met: Yoh, a high school student living on Earth, and Lako, a girl who lives on the planet Junsei, which exists far away in space.

"Starwing Paradox" began operation in 2018. It is an action game in which players control robots and fight against each other on a battlefield in far-flung space where "fights" are fought over the energy contained within the stars. The world setting and animation were handled by Sunrise, the mechanics were designed by Kagami Ippei of "Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans" and Ishigaki Junya of "Xenogears", and the theme song was written by Kanno Yoko and Kodama Amako, bringing together a star-studded staff.