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Maitetsu Game's Rail Romanesque TV Anime Unveils Cast, More Staff, Story, 12-Episode Fall Run

The official website for Rail Romanesque, the television anime of digital novel brand Lose's Maitetsu game, opened on Wednesday. The site revealed two cast members, more staff members, a story introduction, the 12-episode fall 2020 run, and a new visual for the anime.

The anime stars:

Sumire Uesaka as Suzushiro, a Railord for the C1267 locomotive

Aya Suzaki as Kiko, a Railord for Nakoya Railroad's Hoji 6016 locomotive

The anime has not yet announced the cast members for these characters:

Ran, a Railord for the D51 840 locomotive

Iyo, a Railord for the Iyokan Railway Kō 1-1 steam locomotive

Kurenai (pronunciation not confirmed), a Railord for the Kiha 101 locomotive

Riiko, a Railord for the Tōbu Railway 5 locomotive

Kakaa, a Railord for the Deha 101 locomotive

Shirogane, a Railord for the EF10 23 locomotive

Suika, a Railord for the Nakakuni Railroad Sōkō Tōtomi 4 2000 locomotive

Kōichi Motomura is writing the scripts for the shorts, and Cloud22 is handling the sound. Amumo98 is collaborating on the production. Ayumi, Megu Sakuragawa, and Masayo Shinkai are performing the theme song. The project will launch a crowdfunding campaign in early July, and backers will receive the rights to take part in a VR preview, Blu-ray Disc releases, and other rewards.

Sekai Project released the original game for PC globally via Steam in June 2018. The company describes the game's story:

Maitetsu takes place in an alternate reality in Japan, where railroads were the most popular form of travel and transportation. But the difference with these railways is that the trains were paired up with humanoid modules called “Railords.” Due to a popular new form of travel, the railroads were practically forgotten about and eventually, railways were discontinued.

Players will assume the role of Sotetsu, a recent high school graduate who, shortly after entering University, decides to return to his adoptive hometown to save it from water pollution caused by the proliferation of factories. By chance, Sotetsu reawakens “Hachiroku,” a recently decommissioned Railord. He becomes her owner and decides to assist her in finding her missing locomotive, the “8620,” while attempting to save his hometown in the process.

The story of the anime, which features new original characters, is set in the game's fictional southern Hinomoto city of Ohitoyoshi after its successful revitalization spearheaded by Hachiroku's tourism promotion. The city is now planning to host the first Maitetsu Festival to bring together Railords and their respective masters from all over Hinomoto. Inspired by the humans planning for the festival, the famed Suzushiro and other Railords are also hosting a "Railord Summit" at the railroad station cafe Amairo to share their collective wisdom.

The 12 five-minute episodes of the anime will air on the Tokyo MX channel this fall.

As previously announced, Hisayoshi Hirasawa (Yatogame-chan Kansatsu Nikki, Jingai-san no Yome, Miss Bernard said., Netsuzou Trap -NTR-) is serving as chief director and sound director for the show at the studio Saetta. Takayuki Noguchi (Cinderella Nine, Girls Beyond the Wasteland, Queen's Blade: Rebellion) is designing the characters. AYUMI ONE. is in charge of music production.

Lose developed the original Maitetsu visual novel with art by cura. The game shipped in Japan in March 2016. The game is rated 18+ in Japan. The game then launched for PlayStation 4 under the title Maitetsu -pure station- in July 2018. The game also spawned a Nintendo Switch version on January 16 in Japanese, English, simplified Chinese, and traditional Chinese. The sequel Maitetsu: Last Run is slated for July 22.

Sources: Rail Romanesque anime's website, Comic Natalie