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Kannagi's Yamakan Reveals Wake Up, Girls! Anime Characters & Cast
posted on by Egan Loo
The cast for Wake Up, Girls!, the new anime from director Yutaka Yamamoto (Kannagi, Fractale, episode of Lucky Star), was unveiled at an event at Wonder Festival 2013 [Summer] on Sunday. The anime, which follows aspiring idols from Japan's quake-hit northeastern Tohoku region, will air on television and play in theaters simultaneously in early 2014.
Mayu Yoshioka as Mayu Shimada
15-year-old first-year high school girl unrivaled in her talent for singing and dancing
Airi Eino as Airi Hayashida
15-year-old first-year high school girl who is not particularly talented, but has a lot of drive
Minami Tanaka as Minami Katayama
14-year-old third-year middle school girl who is the "little sister" of the group and sets the mood
Yoshino Aoyama as Yoshino Nanase
16-year-old first-year high school girl who already has experience in the business as a local commercial actor and model. A cool beauty with the most sense of responsibility in the group
Nanami Yamashita as Nanami Hisami
13-year-old second-year middle school girl who adores "Hikarizuka Revue" (a nod to Takarazuka Revue). She has been training in singing and dancing since she was very young, and is very prideful
Kaya Okuno as Kaya Kikuma
18-year-old third-year high school girl who is responsible for the group's sex appeal and fashion
Miyu Takagi as Miyu Okamoto
17-year-old third-year high school girl who is indecisive and prone to crying. She is an idol otaku who works part-time at a maid café
Shintarō Asanuma as Kōhei Matsuda
The manager of Green Entertainment. He went to college in Tokyo to become a recording artist, but suffered a setback and came back home to Sendai
Noriko Hidaka as Junko Tange
The president of Green Entertainment. Born in Kumamoto Prefecture in southern Japan, she lived in Tokyo and Osaka before finding herself in Sendai far from her birthplace
The story follows these seven girls who aspire to star in the so-called "idol sengoku jidai" (idol warring states period) of modern day. The Green Leaves Entertainment is a tiny production company on the verge of going out of business in Sendai, the biggest city in Japan's northeastern Tohoku region. The agency once managed the careers of magicians, photo idols, fortune-tellers, and other entertainers, but its last remaining client finally quit. In danger of having zero talent (literally), the president Tange hatches an idea of producing an idol group. On the brash president's orders, the dissatisfied manager Matsuda heads out to scout raw talent. Matsuda makes a fateful encounter with a certain girl….
Yamamoto is directing the project at his studio Ordet and Tatsunoko Productions. The staff also includes scriptwriter Touko Machida (Lucky Star, Battle Girls - Time Paradox, The IDOLM@STER), composer Satoru Kousaki (Lucky Star, Battle Girls - Time Paradox, The IDOLM@STER, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya), and character designer Sunao Chikaoka (blossom, Abnormal Physiology Seminar, Kyo no Gononi). The production company Avex (Ayumi Hamasaki, Kumi Koda, AAA, Super Girls) and the voice talent agency 81 Produce (Kana Asumi, Emiri Katō, Megumi Toyoguchi) held open auditions with over 2,000 female candidates last fall. The winners will not only star as the main characters of the new anime, but also sing the anime's theme song.
The anime's setting of Tohoku is an area that was heavily affected by the earthquake of March 11, 2011. Yamamoto (also known as "Yamakan") has been visiting the Tohoku region frequently, particularly the damaged hometown of Kannagi manga creator Eri Takenashi, and he already made blossom, a charity anime for the region.
The cast will appear at the anime's booth at Comic Market 84 next month, and the booth will also offer the anime's official book WU,G! as well as advance tickets for a preview screening with a signed poster. There will also be "showcase events" every month from September to December.
Thanks to Woun Thisworld for the news tip
Sources: Animate.tv, MoCa
Images © Green Leaves/Wake Up, Girls! Production Committee
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