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Tōken Ranbu: Hanamaru TV Anime Reveals 2nd Teaser Video, More Cast, Key Visual

The official website of Tōken Ranbu: Hanamaru, one of two television anime adaptations of DMM's Tōken Ranbu online browser game, began streaming a second teaser promotional video on Thursday. The video lists the show's main staff and previews the main cast.

The website also revealed a new key visual (pictured above) and three new cast members. The new cast members include (from left to right):

• Tarusuke Shingaki as Heshikiri Hasebe
• Daiki Yamashita as Imanotsurugi
• Reona Irie as Maeda Tōshirō

The previously revealed cast members include (from left to right):

Mitsuhiro Ichiki as Yamatonokami Yasusada and Toshiki Masuda as Kashū Kiyomitsu

The staff describe the anime as follows:

The year is 2205. The "historical revisionists" have begun attacks on the past in their plot to change history. The Saniwa, who have been charged with protecting history, can imbue life into objects. Strongest among these are the Tōken Danshi. The story centers around their cheerful lives.

The anime will premiere in October, and it will air on TOKYO MX, Kansai TV, and BS 11, and it will also stream on DMM.com and on the dAnime Store.

Takashi Naoya (Luck & Logic co-director, Selector Infected Wixoss animation director) is directing the series at Doga Kobo. Junichirō Taniguchi (Natsuyuki Rendezvous, Prison School) is designing the characters, and Pierre Sugiura (Barakamon) is writing and overseeing the scripts. Kenji Kawai (Ghost in the Shell, Eden of the East, Ranma ½) is composing the music.

ufotable is producing another anime adaptation of the game tentatively titled Tōken Ranbu, which is slated for 2017.

The game inspired a stage musical by Nelke Planning that debuted on May 27 in Tokyo, and on June 23 in Kyoto, after holding a trial run at the AiiA 2.5 Theater in Tokyo last October and November. A second musical titled Tōken Ranbu - Bakumatsu Tenrōden will run from September 24 to October 10 at the AiiA 2.5 Theater in Tokyo, then at the Canal City Gekijō in Fukuoka on October 15 and 16, then at the Sankei Hall Breeze in Osaka from October 21 to 30, before returning to its Tokyo venue for a final run from November 17 to 27.

The musical's new cast of characters include:

• Naoya Goumoto as Kondō Isami
• Tomoyuki Takagi as Hijikata Toshizō
• Rakuto Tochihara as Okita Sōji

All three of the new characters bear names similar to historical commanders of the Shinsengumi shogunate police force during the latter days of the Tokugawa shogunate.

A separate "straight play" adaptation of the game opened at Tokyo's Theater 1010 on May 3, with an additional performance on May 14, before moving on to Osaka's Mielparque on May 17. Theatrical production company PEACEPIT supervised the play's production. The play will get a new run this winter.

The Tōken Ranbu "sword personification training game" takes famous swords from Japanese history and interprets them as bishōnen. Nitroplus designed the characters and scenario. The game launched in Japan last year, and it has more than 1.5 million registered users. The game has acquired a large female fanbase and inspired a wide range of merchandise, as well as several manga.

[Via Ota-suke]