Sunrise has unveiled the latest developments in the beloved Wataru franchise with the upcoming television anime “Mashin Sōzōden Wataru.” Announced on Thursday, the new series is set to premiere in January 2025 and will feature an array of exciting new elements, including a fresh promotional video, character visuals, and a star-studded cast and crew.
The main cast of the anime includes Mutsumi Tamura as Wataru Hoshibe, Atsumi Tanezaki as Kakeru Amabe, Katsuyuki Konishi as Ofurain, Megu Umezawa as Maro, and Rie Kugimiya as Ryunryun. Tomokazu Sugita will voice the new character Mashin Ryūjinmaru. The visual reveal also introduced other Mashin characters such as Fūjinmaru, Kirinmaru, Tenshōmaru, and Jūgōmaru.
Directed by Yumi Kamakura at Bandai Namco Pictures, the anime’s production will be overseen by Bandai Namco Filmworks and TV Tokyo. Yoichi Kato, known for his work on “Aikatsu!” and “Duel Masters,” is handling the series scripts, while character designs will be created by Mayuko Nakano (“The Vampire Dies in No Time”) and Yoshinori Yumoto (“Daily Lives of High School Boys”).
The anime’s production team includes Kyōryū Kuramo from Studio GS for Mashin design, Yūri for worldview design, and Norifumi Nakamura and Masami Hayashi as art directors. The color design is managed by Akiko Shibata, with Shinpei Nagashima as CG Director and Tsunetaka Ema as Compositing Director of Photography. Editing will be handled by Naoki Watanabe, while the musical score will be composed by Ryūichi Takada, Keiichi Hirokawa, Oliver Good, and Keita Inoue. Sound direction is under the expertise of Sadayoshi Fujino.
In addition to the anime, a manga adaptation of “Mashin Sōzōden Wataru” will debut in Shogakukan’s Monthly CoroCoro Comic on December 13, 2024.
The Wataru franchise originally launched with “Mashin Eiyūden Wataru” in 1988, followed by “Mashin Eiyūden Wataru 2” in 1990 and “Chō Mashin Eiyūden Wataru” in 1997. It also inspired three original video anime series released between 1989 and 1993. The latest project, “Mashin Eiyūden Wataru Shichi Tamashii no Ryūjinmaru,” premiered in 2020 and concluded with a compilation film in 2022.
“Mashin Sōzōden Wataru” will continue the journey of Wataru, who travels to the world of Sōkaizan in response to a mysterious incident. The narrative follows Wataru as he faces an ominous evil presence and unseals the power of the robot Ryūjinmaru, embarking on a new adventure with his friends Shibaraku, Toraō, and Himiko.