The staff for the Francesca: Girls be Ambitious TV anime began streaming the second promotional video for the show on Saturday. The video features the anime's ending theme song, "Sasayaki wa 'Crescendo'" (A Whisper is a 'Crescendo') by voice actress Yui Makino, who plays the role of the titular character, Francesca.
In the past few weeks, the official Francesca Facebook page has also announced new cast members:
(Note: Historical Japanese names are written in this article in western order, as on the official website.)
Ami Naitō as Tetsunosuke Ichimura, a member of the Shinsengumi and Hijikata's favorite page. Being only 14 1/2 years old, his personality is determined and mischievous.
Katsuya Miyamoto as Kai Shimada, a member of the Shinesengumi. He's a giant man with a giant sweet tooth to boot. Until his death, he participated in a majority of the battles with the Shinsengumi.
Jin Urayama (Ghost Hound's Motoi, Transformers Japanese dub's Ratchet) as Dr. W.S. Clark, a living bronze statue of American professor of biology and agriculture William S. Clark who worked as a foreign adviser when Japan was forming the Sapporo Agricultural College (known today as Hokkaido University). He is best known for his quote, "Boys, be ambitious!" The statue's favorite food is curry.
The new cast will join:
Yui Makino (Sketchbook ~full color'S~'s Hazuki, Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE's Sakura) as Francesca, the heroine of the story. She's an "undead idol" who's a little spacey, but has a lot of energy. Francesca is a zombie girl with a big appetite, and her favorite foods are dishes from Hokkaido.
Asami Tano (Smile Precure!'s Cure Sunny, Toriko's Rin) as Exorcist, a girl who is always chasing after Francesca and always gets the short end of the stick because she does so. As Francesca does not pay attention to her much, she is unhappy, but considers the zombie idol her rival. However, she has problems dealing with Francesca's dog, Franken.
Hiroki Takahashi (Yu-Gi-Oh!'s Jonouchi Katsuya, Hetalia - Axis Powers's Japan) as Toshizō Hijikata, the demonic captain of the Shinsengumi. He is very stubborn, and will never be disloyal. He also is good at looking after his subordinates, and is respected because of that. Unfortunately, he also is a bit in love with himself.
Tarusuke Shingaki (Fate/Zero's Kariya, Ghost in the Shell Arise's Togusa) as Kazue Sōma, a man who is a member of the Shinsengumi who gives orders to the troops when Hijikata is not around, but never listens to what other says. Despite this, he is quite the worldly-wise man.
Newcomer Daisuke Nagumo as Nobori Nakajima, a member of the Shinsengumi. He is very clumsy, but also knowledgeable. He raises flowers as a hobby.
The anime will being airing on the Hokkaido Bunka Hōsō TV station in July.
The "local moe character" Francesca was created in 2012 to help promote Hokkaido. A Sapporo-based taxi company had used Francesca at the end of last year in its "Ita Taxi" (a pun on the word itasha or decorated car) campaign. Francesca has her own Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ accounts, and is also inspiring merchandise and an Android app.
