The official website for the television anime of Chie Shinohara‘s Red River (Sora wa Akai Kawa no Hotori) shōjo manga unveiled the full promotional video and the main visual for the anime’s second part on Friday. The video previews the anime’s new opening theme song “Akatsuki no Hoshi” (Morning Star) by Nana Mizuki.

Viz Media describes how the manga’s story begins:

Yuri, a pretty Japanese girl, is ecstatic after passing her college entrance exam and having her first kiss with her childhood friend-turned boyfriend. However, her luck soon changes. She starts to notice that water becomes agitated whenever she goes near it. One night, hands appear out of a puddle on the street and drag her into the water! Transported to an ancient village in the Middle East, she is then captured by armed troops and taken to the Queen’s palace for a human sacrifice.

The cast includes:

• Mirai Tachibana as Yuri
• Wataru Katō as Kail Muršili (later King Muršili II)
• Aya Uchida as Queen Nakia, the queen of the Hittite Empire
• Shōya Chiba as Zannanza Hattušili, the fourth-born prince of the Hittite Empire
• Tomoaki Maeno as Ilbani, Prince Kail’s aide and advisor
• Kōji Yusa as Urhi, Nakia’s servant
• Kōsuke Toriumi as Prince Mattiwaza, the Prince of Darkness of the chariot-riding Mitanni kingdom
• Tomohiro Ōno as Kikkuri, Prince Kail’s servant
• Shiki Aoki as Hadi, a daughter of the Hatti clan, servant of Kail, and elder sister to Ryui and Shala
• Natsumi Kawaida as Ryui and Misato Matsuoka as Shala, Hadi’s younger twin sisters
• Haruki Ishiya as Kash, the leader of the Hittite chariot corps
• Junya Enoki as Rusafa, the leader of the Hittite archer corps
• Shinichirō Kamio as Mittannamuwa, the leader of the Hittite infantry corps
• Sōma Saitō as User Ramses, Kail’s greatest rival
• Shun Horie as Juda Haspasrupi, the sixth prince in line for the Hittite throne

Nana Mizuki also joins the cast as Ursula, a false goddess impersonating Ishtar.

Ryu Matsuyama performs the new ending theme song “flow feat. Yūko Andō.”

Kōsuke Kobayashi (Waccha PriMagi!, Alice or Alice) is directing the anime at Tatsunoko Production. Yoriko Tomita (The Elusive Samurai, My Dress-Up Darling) is overseeing the series scripts, and Kenji Fujisaki (YU-NO: A girl who chants love at the bound of this world., Blood Lad) is designing the characters. Yoshihisa Hirano is composing the music, while Hiroto Morishita is the sound director. Team Kawadon is credited for sound production.

Historical researchers include Kimiyoshi Matsumura and Daisuke Yoshida, who are members of the Japanese Institute of Anatolian Archaeology as part of the Middle Eastern Culture Center in Japan.

The anime premiered in NTV‘s “AnichU” programming block on July 7 at 25:35 (effectively, July 8 at 1:35 a.m.), and on BS NTV on July 8. Crunchyroll is streaming the anime as it airs in Japan.

Viz Media started releasing the manga in English in 2004, and released all 28 volumes between 2004 to 2010. The company then started re-releasing the manga in 3-in-1 omnibus editions in October 2024, and released the eighth omnibus volume on July 21.

Shinohara originally serialized the manga from 1995 to 2002 in Shogakukan‘s Shōjo Comic (Sho-Comi) magazine.

The manga inspired a stage play by the famed all-female Takarazuka Revue troupe in 2018.

Sources: Red River anime’s website, Comic Natalie

Kadokawa unveiled a new teaser trailer for the television anime of storywriter Jirō Sugiura and artist Umemaru‘s The Fake Alchemist (Nisemono no Renkinjutsushi) manga on Friday. The teaser announces the anime’s cast and staff.

The anime stars Yōhei Matsuoka as Paracelsus and Miyari Nemoto as Nora.

Takeo Takahashi (Wasteful Days of High School Girl, Hinako Note, Spice & Wolf: merchant meets the wise wolf) is the chief director, while Hijiri Sanpei (Yuri Is My Job!, Spice & Wolf: merchant meets the wise wolf) is the director. Kenta Ihara (Saga of Tanya the Evil, Ishura, Nukitashi the Animation) is in charge of the series scripts. Yuka Takashina (D.C.S.S. ~Da Capo Second Season~, Dance with Devils, Ishura) is designing the characters. Luke Standridge (An Observation Log of My Fiancée Who Calls Herself a Villainess, Magical Buffs: The Support Caster is Stronger Than He Realized!) is composing the music.

Kadokawa describes the story:

As an indie hit that became a legendary sensation, surpassing 1 million copies in its commercial edition in Japan, this new monumental “isekai” finally gets a TV adaptation!

In the city-state of Orichalconia, a world where alchemy and magic are deeply rooted in the lives of the people, the reincarnated Paracelsus ekes out a living as an alchemist while hiding his “cheat skills”.

However, his life changes dramatically one day after he enters into a contract with a shaman slave-girl, Nora, and later meets Coco, an elf who has lost all four limbs and five senses.

To save Coco, what began as a rescue attempt in a small workshop gradually escalates into a battle involving alchemy and sorcery, space and even the gods themselves—

The curtain now rises on this story, filled to the brim with “everything fantasy”!

Passione is animating the series.

Sugiura and Umemaru launched the manga on Kadokawa‘s KadoComi website in June 2023. The manga is ongoing, and Kadokawa released the fifth compiled book volume on February 20. Kadokawa is releasing the manga in English digitally. Yen Press releases the manga in print, with the second volume scheduled for release on June 23. 

Sugiura launched the My Wife Has No Emotion manga in Kadokawa‘s Comic Flapper magazine in 2019, although the manga has been on hiatus since November 2024. Seven Seas Entertainment is releasing the manga in English. The manga’s television anime adaptation premiered in July 2024.

Source: Press release

Disclosure: Kadokawa World Entertainment (KWE), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, is the majority owner of Anime News Network, LLC. One or more of the companies mentioned in this article are part of the Kadokawa Group of Companies.

Now your cat can become the ultimate spy & special operations soldier

If you thought your cat was sneaky before, it can now become the ultimate espionage agent with the new Metal Gear cat boxes. The Metal Gear franchise announced the limited-edition Metal Gear cat boxes on Wednesday, and Konami is offering both the Pink Love Box and Barrel Box variants.

The Pink Love Box and Barrel Box will be available at the Konami booth at CatCon, which will take place at the Pasadena Convention Center in Southern California between October 10 and 11. OKS Gear is also offering the boxes online during the convention. (OKS Gear previously offered a Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol.2 cat scratch box during PAX West earlier this month, but that box featured that game collection’s real-life logo instead of in-game graphics.)

Hideo Kojima created the Metal Gear series in 1987 for the MSX2 and later for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). A sequel, Snake’s Revenge, debuted for the NES and subsequently the MSX2 as Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake in 1990. The series went on a near-decade hiatus until the release of Metal Gear Solid for the PlayStation in 1998. The Metal Gear Solid series has seen several sequels and re-releases. The latest release in the Metal Gear Solid series is 2026’s compilation Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2.

The Metal Gear Solid series oft sees players take control of special forces operative Solid Snake as he becomes embroiled in a global conspiracy.

Sources: Metal Gear Official’s X/Twitter account, CatCon via Siliconera