Messages from the Japanese Voice Cast: Shenhua, Nozomi & Guizhang | Shenmue The Animation

The official Japanese website for Shenmue the Animation has been updated with an announcement of three more of the voice cast for the Japanese version, for the characters of Shenhua, Nozomi and Guizhang. The announcement includes a revelation of the ending theme song for the anime. We've translated the messages and announcement below.

Further character voice casting for Shenmue the Animation has been announced! Haruka Terui will be playing Shenhua, a mysterious and enigmatic girl who lives in a remote village. Haruka Fushimi will play the role of Nozomi Harasaki, a girl who secretly adores the main character Ryo, and Ryuichi Kijima will play Guizhang Chen, a man who is always calm and collected but also has a passionate side. Official messages from each cast member have also been received, expressing their joy at participating in the production.

In addition, the anime's ending theme will be Sympathy by rock band Narudora, who are known for their unique Japanese sound and enchanting interpretation. Please look forward to this creative ending theme!

Cast Announcement (Round Two) & Messages!

■ Haruka Terui (as Shenhua)

■ Haruka Fushimi (as Nozomi Harasaki)

■ Ryuichi Kijima (as Guizhang Chen)

About the Ending Theme artist: Narudora

Ryohei Iwata (drums), Kazuya Miwa (vocals/guitar), Kaba (guitar/bass/vocals)

From the band's website:

"Narudora is a Japanese rock band from Gifu formed in March 2013. As a songwriter and a lyricist for the band, Kazuya Miwa controls the Japanese language in a very unique way and perfectly fits it into his own music with his great love, respect, and understanding for the Japanese language itself. Inspired by his songs, the band members come up with their own approach to boost the songs, which in turn allows them to give the audience the one-and-only world of Narudora. The winner of one of the biggest band contests, RO69JACK 2014. Major event appearances: ROCK IN JAPAN FESTIVAL, OOPARTS, MINAMI WHEEL, SAKAE SP-RING, TOKYO CALLING. Narudora has played with: ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION, [Alexandros], SHISHAMO, THE BACK HORN, 04 Limited Sazabys, LACCO TOWER, My Hair is Bad, and so on. Their 2nd EP "Bunmei Kaika" won the Tokai division award on the ninth CD shop awards."

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Leaving the Cave? | Analysis of a New Shenmue III Image

Phantom River Stone analyzes an image from Shenmue III that was displayed on a monitor in a photo posted recently by Haruka Terui to her personal blog.

An intriguing image from Shenmue III was displayed on a monitor in a photo posted recently by Haruka Terui to her personal blog. Haruka will be voicing Shenhua in Shenmue III, as announced earlier this month in a Kickstarter Update:

• Related post: Commentary: Shenhua's new voice actress | Kickstarter Update #82

The image in question appears on the monitor screen in the photo below, which shows Haruka together with Masaya Matsukaze, who continues in his role as Ryo Hazuki in the third game. (Based on a comparison with the photos contained in the earlier Kickstarter Update, this photo was taken at the same recording session).

Masaya Matuskaze (left) and Haruka Terui (right), the voices for Ryo Hazuki and Shenhua Ling in Shenmue III.

Let's take a closer look at what's shown on the monitor, and some of the main points of interest that can be identified:

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Commentary: Shenhua's new voice actress | Kickstarter Update #82

In this post we comment on the announcement of the Japanese voice of Shenhua for Shenmue III as Haruka Terui and analyze the photos that accompanied the update.

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Haruka Terui's Selection as Shenhua

Kickstarter Update #82 announces that the voice actress to play Shenhua for Shenmue III will be Haruka Terui, and gives some comments from Haruka herself, in which she indicates that she will strive to remain faithful to the character as portrayed in the first two games:

"Shenmue has been beloved by so many for so long and fans have been waiting her. As I look Shenhua in the eyes and become her voice, I will remember everyone has their own precious memories and I will do everything I can to keep those memories like they were."

About Haruka Terui:

Haruka Terui is 31 years of age and born in Iwate prefecture - the same prefecture as Shenmue III creator Yu Suzuki. She has around 10 years of experience in the voice industry, with an extensive catalog that includes documentary narration, character songs, television anime series and video game roles (including unspecified voicing for Persona 4 Golden)

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