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Haruka Shiraishi, Takaaki Seki Star in Ronja the Robber's Daughter TV Anime
posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
The official website for Goro Miyazaki's television anime of Swedish author Astrid Lindgren's Ronja the Robber's Daughter children's fantasy book revealed the show's main cast, additional staff, and premiere date on Tuesday.
The cast is as follows:
Haruka Shiraishi (From Up On Poppy Hill's Sora) as Ronja, Mattis' only daughter who was born during a thunderstorm. She is cheerful and loving, with an honest heart, but she is also reckless. She loves the forest and gradually starts to learn its ways. She hates Birk when she first meets him, but before long she starts to care for him.
Takaaki Seki (Mōryō no Hako's Shutaro) as Mattis, the leader of a bandit troupe who dotes on his daughter. He is frank and lacks prudence, but he is a good man at heart.
Yukari Nozawa (Tenchi Muyo GXP's Seto) as Lovis, Mattis' wife and Ronja's mother. She is loving and big-hearted, and often strictly scolds the members of the troupe.
Umeji Sasaki (Arc the Lad's Bibiga) as Skalle-Per, the oldest member of Mattis' troupe who also serves as a foster parent for Mattis.
Shōichirō Akaboshi (Hunter X Hunter's Zeburo) as Fjosok, next in seniority in Mattis' bandit troupe after Per. He acts as Mattis' right-hand man.
Rintarō Nishi (Moribito - Guardian of the Spirit's Jiguro) as Tjegge, a handsome and cool man who acts as the backbone of Mattis' bandit troupe.
Takeo Ogawa (A Letter to Momo's Koichi) as Tjorm, a chatterbox who has a vast amount of knowledge. He has a lot of pride, and often serves as the straight man to others.
Kenji Sugimura (Mobile Suit Gundam AGE's Ordeo Brown) as Sturkas, the hasty and brilliant leader of Mattis' special attack unit.
Takahiro Shimada (Ping Pong's Michio Tamura) as Knotas, a large man with superhuman strength and a large personality. In truth, he is quite shy. He never removes his snow glasses.
Yuusuke Tezuka (Pani Poni Dash!, Kekkaishi) as Pelje, the youngest member of Mattis' troupe who cannot read situations at all and moves at his own pace. He loves plants.
Keiji Himeno (Soul Eater's Ragnarok) as Lill-Klippen, a bow expert who is a good fighter despite being the shortest member of Mattis' troupe. He is glib and frivolous.
Atsuki Tani (Majin Bone's Stolz) as Borka, Birk's father and the leader of another bandit troupe. He is a childhood friend of Mattis and the two are rivals. His personality is much the same as Mattis', but he also has a nervous temperament and is prudent.
Saori Kato (Jormungand's Karen Lo) as Tori-Onna (Bird Woman), a bad-tempered creature with the face of a beautiful woman. When she sees humans she wants to capture them and tear them apart.
Other cast members include:
- Reika Uyama (Tales of Vesperia ~The First Strike~'s Emma) as Birk
- Mika Doi (Rurouni Kenshin's Megumi) as Undis
- Fukiko Endō as Narrator
The official website also reveals that the show will premiere on Saturday, October 11 at 7:00 p.m. on BS Premium. The first two episodes will air back-to-back on October 11. The channel will re-air each episode the following Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., although the first two episodes will re-air at 6:00 p.m. BS Premium will air a 90-minute special on October 4 at 7:00 p.m. temporarily titled "Ronja wa Koushite Umareta" (How Ronja Was Born).
The story revolves around Ronja, the only daughter of Mattis, the chief of a tribe of bandits who live in a large castle in a forest. Ronja studies the ways of the mysterious creatures who live in the forest.
Polygon Pictures (Knights of Sidonia, The Sky Crawlers) is animating the 3D CG series in collaboration with Studio Ghibli. The show will mark the first time that Miyazaki is directing a television anime series.
Hiroyuki Kawasaki (The Irresponsible Captain Tylor, Sorcerer Hunters, Ryoko's Case File, Psychic Detective Yakumo) is handling the series composition and scripts. Katsuya Kondo (Kiki's Delivery Service, From Up On Poppy Hill) designed the characters, and Satoshi Takebe (From Up On Poppy Hill) is handling the music. NHK Enterprise is producing the series, and NHK and Dwango are handling production and writing.
Aoi Terashima is performing the series theme song "Haru no Sakebi" (Spring's Shout). Mari Natsuki is performing the ending theme song "Player."
From Up On Poppy Hill English dub producer Geoffrey Wexler's LinkedIn profile lists himself as the English-language dub and subtitle producer for the series, although no Western release or English dub have been officially announced.
[Via Ota-Suke]
