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Daisuke Namikawa, Kensho Ono, Yuuki Kaji Perform Cover of Orange Range Song as Opening Theme of Gymnastics Samurai Anime
posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
The staff of The Gymnastics Samurai (Taiso Samurai), the new original sports television anime from the studio MAPPA (Yuri!!! on Ice, Zombie Land Saga), revealed on Saturday after the first episode aired that Daisuke Namikawa, Kenshō Ono, and Yūki Kaji are performing the show's opening theme song "Shanghai Honey." The song is a cover of a song by the band Orange Range (Bleach, Naruto, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2).
MAPPA is streaming the opening movie for the anime.
The series premiered on October 10 in TV Asahi's NUMAnimation block, and it will air on a total of 24 affiliated networks. Funimation is streaming the series as it airs.
The anime stars: (not all name romanizations are confirmed)
- Daisuke Namikawa as Shōtarō Aragaki
- Kenshō Ono as Leonardo
- Yūki Kaji as Tetsuo Minamino, Shōtarō's rival
- Kenyuu Horiuchi as Noriyuki Amakusa, Shōtarō's coach
- Rina Honnizumi as Rei Aragaki, Shōtarō's daughter
- Atsuko Tanaka as Mari Aragaki
- Kotono Mitsuishi as Tomoyo Aragaki
- Kappei Yamaguchi as Bigbird Aragaki
- Hiroyuki Yoshino as Tomoki Takizawa
- Nana Mizuki as Ayu
- Daisuke Hirakawa as Naohiko Nakanomori
- Kaito Ishikawa as Atsushi Dōjima
- Daisuke Ono as Shige Nishikiori
- Kengo Kawanishi as Hiro Okamachi
- Hiroshi Kamiya as Ryū Ryūshō
- Minami Tanaka as Kitty Chan
- Rikiya Koyama as Britney
The story is set in the year 2002 and centers on the once powerful Japanese men's gymnastics team. Shōtarō Aragaki, the former Japanese team member who devoted his life to gymnastics, is no longer able to compete to his expectations. Despite still training strenuously day after day, he is advised to retire by his coach Amakusa. However, a certain encounter alters Aragaki's fate.
The anime reunites director Hisatoshi Shimizu (Zombie Land Saga, episode director Eureka Seven: Hi - Evolution director), series script supervisor Shigeru Murakoshi (Zombie Land Saga, Dororo), and character designer Kasumi Fukagawa (Zombie Land Saga, IDOLiSH7).
Source: Press release
