At Anime Expo Lite, more information on The World Ends with You The Animation was revealed. The anime will be produced by Domerica and Shin-Ei Animation and directed by Kazuya Ichikawa. Takeharu Ishimoto returns to compose the music for the anime while Tetsuya Nomura and Gen Kobayashi work on the character designs. Midori Goto from Sanzigen will work as the screenwriter. The anime is based on the original game which released on the Nintendo DS in 2007 in Japan (2008 worldwide).
During the panel, Director Ichikawa revealed the Japanese voice cast from the original game will return to voice their respective characters in the anime. However, Ayana Taketatsu will voice Rhyme instead of Hitomi Nabatame. Taketatsu voiced Rhyme in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance. The voice cast announced is as follows:
- Kōki Uchiyama as Neku Sakuraba
- Anna Hachimine as Shiki Misaki
- Subaru Kimura as Beat
- Ayana Taketatsu as Rhyme
- Ryōhei Kimura as Joshua
In addition to this news, a new teaser video was released for the upcoming anime. You can check that out below.
During the panel, Director Ichikawa noted that the Shibuya in the anime will be based off the city as it is in 2020 unlike the original game which was set in 2007. So the characters will be using smartphones instead of flip phones and some of the buildings will look different.
The anime’s official website describes the story as follows:
Neku awakens in the middle of Shibuya’s bustling Scramble Crossing
with no memory of how he got there.
Little does he know he’s been transported to an alternate plane
of existence known as the Underground (UG).
Now an unwilling participant in the mysterious “Reapers’ Game,”
Neku must partner up with a girl named Shiki in order to survive.
Together, they complete missions and defeat monsters known as “Noise”
as they gradually uncover the true nature of this twisted Game.“There’s only one way to stay alive in Shibuya: trust your partner.”
Will they survive the Reapers’ Game?
The World Ends with You The Animation is scheduled to premiere sometime in 2021. You can check out its official website HERE.
