Actor Kanata Hongo attended the completion announcement event for "Nioh 3" (Koei Tecmo Games), the latest installment in the action RPG "Nioh" series, held at the Kanze Noh Theater (Chuo Ward, Tokyo) on February 2nd. Hongo is the character model and voice actor for Tokugawa Kunimatsu, who appears in the game, and appeared in traditional Japanese clothing inspired by the character.
Tokugawa Kunimatsu, played by Hongo, is the younger brother of the main character, Tokugawa Takechiyo, and was so talented that he was said to be the next Shogun, but a single word from Ieyasu blocked his path to Shogun, and he turned his blade on Takechiyo. Hongo said with a smile about Kunimatsu, "I think he's very Hongo Kanata-like. I've always played many bad roles, and never played a straightforward, righteous one. I've played many roles where something unfortunate happens and the character goes down to the dark side, so I think that's why he was a candidate for the role. I was able to make use of my past experience. I'm good at playing roles where the characters go down to the dark side."
Also appearing at the event was actress Tsuchiya Tao, who is the character model and voice actor for Himiko in the series. Tsuchiya and Hongo first co-starred in the role of "siblings with a secret" about nine years ago, and Hongo said, "Kunimatsu-kun in this film also plays a brother with a secret, Takechiyo, so I think that might be something I'm good at. I'm good at characters with secrets and dark descent."
The "Nioh" series is a dark Sengoku action RPG set in a world inspired by the Sengoku period of Japan, where players battle samurai and monsters. "Nioh" was released in 2017, and "Nioh 2" in 2020, and has gained popularity with cumulative worldwide sales exceeding 8.5 million copies.
Nioh 3 evolves the series' signature hardcore samurai action, a rich original story featuring Sengoku warlords, addictive hack-and-slash and deep build-building, and online multiplayer. New elements include an open field and two battle styles: samurai and ninja. It will be released for PlayStation 5 and Steam on February 6th.
