'Gegege no Kitarou' 2018 Anime Latest News: Series to Replace 'Dragon Ball Super'; Masako Nozawa Joins Official Cast
"Gegege no Kitarou" celebrated the 50th anniversary of its first animated adaptation earlier this month, and it later inspired further online discussion when it was announced to be returning on air this year to replace the ongoing popular Japanese shounen anime series, "Dragon Ball Super."
Toei Animation made the announcement via a video posted on their official YouTube channel. The 30-second video has also revealed some of the cast members, most of whom have appeared in previous seasons of the anime, but none of them will be reprising the same roles.
The cast members include Miyuki Sawashiro, who will be providing the voice of Kitarou, and Masako Nozawa, who will be providing the voice of Medama Oyaji. Sawashiro is noted for providing the voice of Fujiko Mine in "Lupin III: Part IV," while Nozawa is best known for being the voice of Goku from the "Dragon Ball" franchise.
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Yukiyo Fujii, who has previously provided the voice of Sailor Saturn in "Sailor Moon Crystal," will now be lending her voice to a new character named Mana Inuyama. Toshio Furukawa, who is best known for being the voice of Piccolo from "Dragon Ball Z," will now be providing the voice of Nezumi Otoko.
Other voice casts include Umeka Shouji as Neko Musume, Kappei Yamaguchi as Ittan Momen, Bin Shimada as Konaki Jijii, and Mayumi Tanaka as Sunakake Baba. Shouji previously provided the voice of Eri Karan from "Digimon Universe: Appli Monsters." Yamaguchi is currently providing the voice of Usopp from "One Piece." Shimada was previously Babidi from "Dragon Ball Z Kai," while Tanaka is best known for being the voice of Luffy from "One Piece."
The upcoming series will be directed by Kouji Ogawa with Hiroshi Ohnogi taking charge of the series composition. Sorato Shimizu is serving as both character designer and chief animation director, while Yasuharu Takanashi and –yaiba- are credited for music composition. Fuji TV, Yomiuri Advertising, and Toei Animation are producing the series.
"Gegege no Kitarou" will premiere on Sunday, April 1, at 9 a.m. JST on Fuji TV.
On the other hand, an interview with Fuji TV posted on SoraNews24, reveals that "Dragon Ball Super" is set to "finish for the time being" with no current plans for possible future installments. The Fuji TV representative, however, promises to share any developments via press release at a later time.
