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New Yaiba Anime Gets Early Screenings on March 13

The official website for Shin Samurai-den YAIBA, the new television anime of Gōshō Aoyama's Yaiba manga announced on Wednesday that the first three episodes will get early screenings at 10 TOHO CINEMAS locations on March 13. The screenings will include a roundtable video featuring Aoyama, director Takahiro Hasui, and character designer Yoshimichi Kameda.

The new anime will premiere in April on Saturdays at 5:30 p.m. (3:30 a.m. EST) on YTV, NTV, and affiliated channels throughout Japan.

The series follows the titular Yaiba Kurogane, a young samurai boy inspired by Miyamoto Musashi, the real-life swordsman who pioneered the Hyōhō Niten Ichi-ryū style of two-sword fighting and wrote The Book of Five Rings classic on military strategy.

The anime's main cast members are:

• Minami Takayama as Yaiba Kurogane
• Manaka Iwami as Sayaka Mine
• Yoshimasa Hosoya as Takeshi Onimaru
• Katsuyuki Konishi as Kenjūrō Kurogane
• Junichi Suwabe as Musashi Miyamoto (Miyamoto Musashi in traditional Japanese name order)

Takahiro Hasui (episode director for Aikatsu Friends!, Mob Psycho 100 II) is directing the anime at Wit Studio. Touko Machida (7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life, The IDOLM@STER) is in charge or series scripts, Yoshimichi Kameda (chief animation director for INU-OH film) is the character designer and chief animation director, and Takeshi Maenami (key animator for Ni no Kuni, Uma Musume Pretty Derby: Beginning of a New Era films), is the sub-character designer and main animator. Yutaka Yamada (Tokyo Ghoul) and Yoshiaki Dewa (IRODUKU: The World in Colors) are composing the music, Haru Yamada (IRODUKU: The World in Colors, Made in Abyss) is the sound director, and Maiko Okada (Great Pretender razbliuto, After the Rain) is the animation producer.

Additional staff members include:

• Special Effects Director: Hirofumi Masuda
• Art Director: Yūsuke Takeda (Bamboo)
• Art Setting: Kazushi Fujii
• Color Design: Satoshi Hashimoto
• 3D Director: Yukinori Nakamura
• Compositing Director of Photography: Toru Fukushi
• Editing: Kiyoshi Hirose
• Sound Effects: Eiko Morikawa

Aoyama launched the series in Shogakukan's Weekly Shonen Sunday in September 1988. The series concluded in December 1993 with a total of 24 compiled book volumes.

The series inspired a 52-episode anime adaptation that ran from April 1993-April 1994.

The character is frequently referenced in Aoyama's Detective Conan series, and even appeared in the Detective Conan: Conan vs Kid vs YAIBA - The Grand Battle for the Treasure Sword!! OVA in 2000.

Sources: Yaiba anime's website, Comic Natalie