Anime Japanese Voice Cast Announced: Joy, Ren, Dou Niu & Wong | Shenmue The Animation

Fans in Japan will soon be able to join the rest of the world in watching Shenmue the Animation as its release in the Japan domestic market was confirmed for next month (April 2022). Also announced today were a further four members of the Japanese-language voice cast, for the characters of Joy, Ren, Dou Niu and Wong, together with release dates for download/streaming of the the anime's opening and ending theme music. We've translated the messages and announcement below.

Shenmue the Animation will be distributed in Japan from April. It was also announced that M.A.O., Osamu Taira, Shota Hayama, and Takahiro Sumi will appear in the anime.

M.A.O. [the stage name of Mao Ichimichi] plays Joy, a woman with a vivacious and open personality; Taira plays Wuying Ren, the head of the Heavens street gang; Hayama plays Wong, a boy in the Heavens; and Sumi plays Dou Niu, the boss of the Chinese mafia, the Yellow Heads. Messages from each of the four cast members have also been received.

Cast Announcement (Round Three) & Messages!

■ M.A.O. (as Joy)

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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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