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Kageki Shojo!! Anime Casts Norio Wakamoto

The official website for the television anime of Kumiko Saiki's Kageki Shoujo!! manga revealed on Saturday that Norio Wakamoto joined the show's cast as Ichii Anai. The character appeared in the first episode.

The anime premiered on July 3 on AT-X, Tokyo MX, BS11, and HTB. Funimation began streaming the series on Saturday.

The publisher Seven Seas Entertainment describes the story:

Ever since she was a little girl, Sarasa has wanted to play the role of Oscar as part of the Kouka Acting Troupe, an all-female acting troupe similar to the Takarazuka Revue. But before she can do that, she has to attend two years at the Kouka School of Musical and Theatrical Arts. As Sarasa practices singing, dancing, and acting, she grows closer to the other girls in her year, including her roommate, the stoic former J-idol, Ai. Though Sarasa is great at making friends, her outspoken nature and grand ambitions earn her lots of enemies as well.

The anime stars (not all character names are official romanizations):

• Sayaka Senbongi as Sarasa Watanabe
• Yumiri Hanamori as Ai Narada
• Sumire Uesaka as Sawa Sugimoto
• Yō Taichi as Kaoru Hoshino
• Rico Sasaki as Ayako Yamada
• Risae Matsuda as Chika Sawada
• Satsumi Matsuda as Chiaki Sawada
• Hiroki Nanami as Sei Satomi
• Kana Hanazawa as Hijiri Nojima
• Mikako Komatsu as Risa Nakayama
• Yuka Terasaki as Akemi Takei
• Junichi Suwabe as Mamoru Ando
• Kenji Nojima as Taichi Narata
• Kengo Takanashi as Akiya Shirakawa
• Takehito Koyasu as Kōsaburō Shirakawa

The Matsuda sisters are twins who are also playing twin sisters in the anime.

The three-member band saji is performing the opening theme song "Hoshi no Orchestra" (Starry Orchestra). Sayaka Senbongi and Yumiri Hanamori as their respective characters are performing the ending theme song "Hoshi no Tabibito" (Stellar Traveler).

Although the anime's title is Kageki Shōjo!!, its story will come from Kageki Shoujo!! Season Zero.

Kazuhiro Yoneda (Yona of the Dawn, Hozuki's Coolheadedness) is directing the anime at PINE JAM. Tadashi Morishita (Yona of the Dawn) is in charge of the series scripts. Takahiro Kishida (Gleipnir, Haikyu!!, Madoka Magica) is designing the characters. Tsuneyoshi Saito (Fafner, PriPara) is composing the music.

Saiki serialized the original manga under the title Kageki Shoujo! (with one exclamation mark) in Shueisha's Jump Kai magazine from 2012 to 2014, and ended the original serialization after the magazine ceased publication in October 2014.

Saiki then launched the ongoing sequel manga under the title Kageki Shoujo!! (with two exclamation marks) in Melody in 2015. The manga was nominated for Best Shōjo Manga in Kodansha's 44th annual Manga Awards last year.

Shueisha published the original manga in two volumes, but re-released the series in one compiled volume in March 2019 with the title Kageki Shoujo!! Season Zero. This is the volume that Seven Seas Entertainment released in English under the title Kageki Shoujo!! The Curtain Rises.

Sources: Kageki Shoujo!! anime's website, Comic Natalie