It has been announced that actor Akihisa Shiono will be appearing as a voice actor in the TV anime "Akane-banashi," which is based on a manga about rakugo currently being serialized in "Weekly Shonen Jump" (Shueisha). This will be Shiono's first time trying his hand at voice acting in an anime, and he will play Arakawa Kaisei, a disciple of Arakawa Issei, a renowned rakugo performer of the present day.
Shiono commented, "I was selected to participate in this production after passing the audition, but from the time I received my lines until I actually stood in front of the microphone and finished performing, I was just desperately trying to give it my all. Because I love anime, I took on the role with the utmost respect for everyone involved."
"I'm sure that everyone who loves the original work has their own ideal way of playing Kaisei. I usually act using the information from my body and facial expressions, but how much can I express using the information from my voice? I would like to put everything I have cultivated up to now into creating a character that everyone will love," he said.
"Akane-banashi" is a rakugo manga written by Hiroki Suenaga and illustrated by Takamasa Umagami, which began serialization in the magazine in February 2022. It depicts Akane Sakurazaki, a girl whose father is a rakugo performer, as she becomes a high school student and overcomes challenges as she strives to become a master in the world of rakugo. The comic has sold over 3 million copies in total.
The anime will be directed by Watanabe Ayumu and produced by Zexys. Anna Nagase will play the main character, Takuya Eguchi Sakurazaki, and will also feature Rie Takahashi as Hikaru Takaragi. Rakugo performer Kikuhiko Hayashiya will be in charge of supervising the rakugo. It will begin airing in April 2026 on TV Asahi's anime slot "IMAnimation."
◇Cast (titles omitted)
Akane Sakurazaki: Anna Nagase▽Nerima Karashi: Takuya Eguchi ▽Hikaru Takaragi: Rie Takahashi ▽Kaio Arakawa: Akihisa Shiono ▽Shinta Arakawa (Toru Sakurazaki): Jun Fukuyama ▽Maikeru Arakawa: Nobunaga Shimazaki ▽Little Arakawa: Chiaki Kobayashi ▽Kyoji Arakawa: Yohei Azakami ▽Guriko Arakawa: Seiichiro Yamashita
