Anime Fantasy

Tatsunoko's The Price of Smiles TV Anime Reveals Key Visual, Mecha Designs

The official Twitter account for Egao no Daika (The Price of Smiles), Tatsunoko Productions' original television anime to mark its 55th anniversary, revealed a new key visual on Wednesday. The anime's official website also revealed mecha designs. (Note: character and mecha name romanizations are not official.)

Soleil Kingdom

Guard

Squire

Klibanov

Grandiiga Empire

Krähe I

Krähe II

The previously announced cast members are:

Yumiri Hanamori as Yūki Soleil, a princess of a kingdom which has lasted eons. The girl is innocent, naive, expressive, and often laughing, crying, or getting angry. 

Saori Hayami as Stella Shining, a girl who is always smiling when she deals with people, but does not let others see her true feelings. She has a reserved side, and is an excellent soldier attached to the empire's Bürger Squad. She is highly skilled in combat, and excellent as a pilot, but terrible in expressing her feelings. She enlisted in the military in order to live — she does not have a purpose in life, but she feels comfortable in her current squad.

Yoshitsugu Matsuoka as Joshua Ingram, Yūki's childhood friend. He hails from a family of knights who have always defended the kingdom. He treats Yūki like her little sister, and is Yūki's first friend and confidante in the entire kingdom. He is a passionate young man, who believes that determination and willpower can solve anything. He considers protecting Yūki his sworn duty.

Rina Satou as Reira Etoile, Yūki's tutor, and the only person that Yūki is scared of. She is extremely intelligent, and strict when it comes to manners. She is usually reticent, but remains one of the few people in the kingdom who can genuinely scold Yūki. Her stern attitude comes from a place of love, and she always supports Yūki.

Nobutoshi Canna as Harold Miller, the leader of the knightly order. He thinks of Yūki as his own daughter, and he always has a smile ready when he faces her. He is an excellent battlefield commander, who always gives precise orders. He has been friends with Izana since their time in the military academy.

Ryotaro Okiayu as Izana Langford, a calm, cool-headed, and analytical political official. He dislikes conflict, but will fight to protect his beloved wife and daughter if he thinks there is no choice. He has no stomach for alcohol. He has been friends with Harold since their time in the military academy.

Makoto Koichi as Yuni Vanquish, a pilot from the outlying border area, and Lune's older twin sister. She exudes a bright personality, and she always wants to help people. She likes cute things. However, she has a habit of getting things wrong due to her habit of recklessness. She thinks very highly of Lune, who is always there to support her. She is an excellent pilot, but she has weak situational awareness and command ability.

Junya Enoki as Lune Vanquish, a pilot from the outlying border area, and Yuni's younger twin brother. Unlike her sister, he is always serious and level-headed. He is always there to support her sister when she rushed headlong into something. Like his sister, he is also a skilled pilot, but supporting her sister has given him the ability to link up well with those around him.

Takashi Matsuyama as Gale Owens, the leader of the newly assigned Bürger Squad. He is both an excellent pilot and an excellent commander. 

Yuki Nagaku as Lily Earhart, a Bürger Squad member who looks up to Stella. She is the constantly cheerful moodmaker of the squad. She often serves in the support role to the other members in battle.

Toshiki Masuda as Huey Malthus, a Bürger Squad member who has fought alongside Stella. He is cynical and sarcastic. He is a superb pilot, especially in marksmanship.

Haruki Ishiya as Pearce Thorn, a serious Bürger Squad member with a strong sense of justice. He puts duty as a soldier above all else. Due to his serious nature, he has an inflexible attitude.

Minoru Shiraishi as Blake Boyer, a Bürger Squad member who serves as both a pilot and a mechanic. He is easygoing and not very motivated as a soldier. As a result, the more serious Pearce is often on his case, but Blake does not care.

The anime will premiere on the WOWOW, Tokyo MX, and YTV channels in January, and it will have 12 30-minute episodes.

Tatsunoko describes the story:

On a planet far from Earth, there is a kingdom full of smiling faces. Princess Yūki is 12 years old, and about to enter a sensitive age in a person's life. Everyday, she cries, laughs, and sometimes, her heart throbs with excitement. All the while, she lives merrily in the royal palace.
Filling her days with color are her loyal vassals: her tutor Reira, Izana who assists in political affairs, the leader of the chivalry Harold … and then, there is her childhood friend and aide Joshua.
"Yūki! If you have spirit and guts, you can do anything!"
"…No, not this again! Joshua, be nobler!"
Stella is 17 years old and a capable, reserved soldier. However, she is always smiling ... for smiling is essential to living.
This is a story of two girls born on distant planets.

Toshimasa Suzuki (Lagrange - The Flower of Rin-ne, Fafner: Heaven and Earth) is directing at Tatsunoko Productions, and Shinichi Inotsume(Hayate the Combat Butler, PERSONA 5 the Animation) is in charge of the series scripts. NOB-C (Musasino!, Urawa no Usagi-chan) is credited with the original character designs, as well as the original story concept with Hikaru Yuasa. Naoto Nakamura (Miss Monochrome assistant character design, High School Fleet) is designing the characters for animation.

Kazuya Tanaka is directing the sound, and Tsubasa Itō is composing the music. Chiho feat. majiko are performing the opening theme song "Egao no Kanata" (Beyond the Smiles) and the artist kimi no orphée is performing the ending theme song "Kono Sekai ni Hanataba" (A Bouquet For This World).

Source: The Price of Smile anime's official website, and Twitter account, Comic Natalie