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TV Asahi's Sanrio Mascot Character 'Gō-chan' Gets 2nd Anime Film
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
TV Asahi announced on Monday that its mascot character "Gō-chan." will get a new anime film titled Gō-chan. ~Moco to Koori no Ue no Yakusoku~ (Gō-chan. ~Moco and the Promise Made on the Ice~). The new movie will feature ice skating as the theme, and will star real-life Japanese figure skaters Nobunari Oda and Shizuka Arakawa as two ice-skating characters in elementary school. Nobunari plays the character Odayama, while Arakawa plays the character Aramizu.
The film will feature Ai Kayano, Tomokazu Sugita, Yūki Kaji, Nobunaga Shimazaki, Koyatsu Time, and Chie Honma reprising their roles as Moco, Tamarin, Kin-chan, Kamo-chan, Moffun, and Chibe-san, respectively. Tomokazu Seki and Yumi Kakazu will also join the cast as Takeda-sensei and Katsunuma, respectively.
Tetsuo Yasumi (ATASHIn'CHI, Doraemon: Shin Nobita no Uchū Kaitakushi, Fighting Foodons) is once again directing the film alongside Minetarō Hirai (Futatsu no Kurumi, Aoi Hitomi no Onna no Ko no Ohanashi) at Shinei Animation and Synergy SP. Kimiko Ueno (Shin-chan, The Royal Tutor, Kuromajyo-san ga Tōru!!) is penning the script.
Gō-chan debuted in 2011. Yuko Yamaguchi, the designer of the original Hello Kitty, personally designed the character a collaboration between TV Asahi and Sanrio to raise awareness about TV Asahi's Digital 5 channel. His name ("Gō" sounds similar to the Japanese word for "5"), "V" shirt design, and May 5 birthday all represent the number 5.
The first film for the character, Gō-chan. ~Moco to Chinjū no Mori no Nakama-tachi~ (Gō-chan. ~Moco and Friends From Peculiar Animal Forest), debuted in January last year.
Source: The Mainichi Shimbun's Mantan Web
