The
official website for director Tsutomu Mizushima and scriptwriter Michiko Yokote's Kōya
no Kotobuki Hikōtai(Kotobuki - The Wasteland Squadron) original television
anime project revealed on Wednesday that Akiko Yajima and Keiji Fujiwara will join the anime's cast. The two new cast members will voice the following characters (both were previously revealed without voice actors):
anime project revealed on Wednesday that Akiko Yajima and Keiji Fujiwara will join the anime's cast. The two new cast members will voice the following characters (both were previously revealed without voice actors):
Akiko Yajima as Madame Lulu, the
president of the Ōni Company, a company that makes a living on the transportation
of goods and materials. She maintains a confident and imposing figure as she
gives orders to those around her.
Keiji Fujiwara as Saneatsu,
an indecisive commanding officer who has occupied his rank for a while. People
say that he is always unlucky and draws the short straw.
The
cast and other revealed characters include:
Sayumi Suzushiro as Kyile, a pilot
with excellent piloting skills and a natural aptitude for the air.
Eri Yukimura as
Emma, Kyile's childhood friend, and a pilot with superior dogfight senses and
observational skills.
Sayaka Nakaya as
Kate, a logical thinker who prefers to remain silent.
Asami Seto as Reona, the unit's
experienced commander.
Hibiku Yamamura as
Zara, the unit's executive officer, who watches over all the squadron members.
Miyu Tomita as
Chika, the squadron's youngest and most cheerful member.
Anna, a headstrong and determined girl who criticizes and
makes quips against Saneatsu without fear.
Natsuo, the chief of the maintenance crew for the fighters.
While she may look like a child, she is a full-fledged adult, with the mouth to
prove it. She is helpful, and a big sister figure to everyone.
Ady, Betty, and Cindy, three girls who are always together at
work and outside of work. While they look very similar to each other, they are
not related at all.
Johnny, the owner and bartender of the bar that the pilots
frequent. Aside from the drinks, he also cooks the food. He has a calm and
quiet personality.
Ririko, the bar waitress. She constantly acts disinterested
in her job, and has few words to spare, even for customers. She is especially
cold toward Johnny.
The Kotobuki Squadron operates the Ki-43-i Model 1
"Hayabusa" fighter plane (official designation "Type 1
fighter"). The plane's appearance and designation are similar to the
real-life Nakajima Ki-43-i "Hayabusa" fighter plane.
The site also revealed the
A6M2b Model 21 "Zero," officially designated as the "Type 0
carrier fighter." Like the previously revealed fighter, this new fighter
appears and is similarly named to the real-life Mitsubishi A6M2b
"Zero" fighter.
The
anime will air on the Tokyo MX, TV Aichi, MBS, and BS11 channels in January.
The
anime's story will take place in a barren frontier where people trade
goods with each other in order to help each other survive. The Kotobuki
Squadron are bodyguards for hire, led by a strict but beautiful squadron
leader, an unreliable commanding officer, and a true artisan of a crew chief.
Alongside pilots who don't lack for personality, they take to the air in
dogfights, letting the engine noise of their Hayabusa fighters ring out in the
skies.
Mizushima (Girls und Panzer, Shirobako) serves as both the
director and sound director for the anime, with Yokote (Shirobako, Prison School, Cowboy Bebop, Rurouni Kenshin) credited for series
scripts. Hiroyuki Kanbe (Oreimo) is the assistant
director. Hidari (Natsu-iro Kiseki, Santa Company, Phantom in the Twilight) drew the original character designs, and Shou Sugai (The Princess and the Pilot, The Sky Crawlers key animation) is
adapting those designs for animation. Shigeyuki Ninomiya (Girls und Panzer, Shirobako, Kuromukuro) is credited for military
supervision, while Tetsuya Nakano, Hideyuki Kikuchi (Vampire Hunter D), and Jirō Tokihama are credited for
military setting. Digital Frontier is credited for
production, while GEMBA is producing the
animation. Wao World is handling key animation
production.
ZAQ will perform the opening theme song "Sora no Ne"
(Sound of the Sky), while the main six cast members will perform the ending
theme song "Tsubasa o Motsu Mono-tachi" (Those Who Have Wings). ZAQ is
composing and writing the lyrics for the ending song.
Mizushima reported on
his Twitter account that the anime will be a hybrid of 3D CG and 2D animation,
and that he has been working on the anime for a number of years. The
anime will only show Japanese planes, and Mizushima specifically said
that Germany's Messerschmitt planes will not appear in the anime.
The project will also spawn a smartphone game titled Kōya no Kotobuki Hikōtai - Ōzora no
Take Off Girls!(Kotobuki - The Wasteland Squadron: Take Off Girls
of the Sky!) that will debut in winter 2019. The iOS/Android game's genre is a
"reciprocating-engine air combat simulation RPG," and the game's site
is accepting pre-registrations.
Mizushima
and Yokote have previously worked together as director and scriptwriter,
respectively, on numerous anime including Genshiken, Genshiken: Second
Generation, Big Windup!, Joshiraku, xxxHOLiC, xxxHOLiC: Kei, Squid Girl, Squid Girl Season 2, Shirobako, Haré+Guu, Prison School, Witch Craft Works, and Kujibiki Unbalance.
In Mizushima
and Yokote's Shirobako anime,
the 3rd Aerial Girls
Squadron (Dai-3 Hikō Shōjotai) show-within-a-show has a
similar concept, but unlike Kōya
no Kotobuki Hikōtai, the characters pilot modern jet aircraft.
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Kōya no Kotobuki Hikōtai TV Anime Casts Akiko Yajima, Keiji Fujiwara