News
Muse Asia Licenses The World Is Dancing, Grow Up Show Anime
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
Muse Asia announced last Friday that it has licensed the television anime of Kazuto Mihara's The World Is Dancing manga, as well as Aniplex, A-1 Pictures, and Psyde Kick Studio's original anime project Grow Up Show: Himawari no Circus-dan (Grow Up Show: The Sunflower Circus Troupe). Muse Asia will announce distribution details for both anime at a later date.
The World Is Dancing anime will debut on Tokyo MX and KBS Kyoto in Japan on July 2 at 10:00 p.m. JST, then on Sun TV at 24:00 JST (effectively July 3 at 12 midnight). The anime will air on BS Asahi and TVQ Kyushu starting on July 3.
The anime stars:- Yumiri Hanamori stars as Oniyasha
- Shimba Tsuchiya as Ishiya
- Maaya Uchida as Kogane
- Romi Park as Zōjirō
- Katsuyuki Konishi as Kan'ami
- Haruki Ishiya as Jūnigorō
- Takahiro Sakurai as Ashikaga Yoshimitsu
- Nobuo Tobita as Nijo Yoshimoto
- Mamiko Noto as Nariko
- Inori Minase as Chiharu
- Hazuki Seto as Satsuki
Toshimasa Kuroyanagi (Shōnen Hollywood, The Great Passage, Backflip!! series and film) is directing the anime at Cygames Pictures. Keigo Sasaki (Blue Exorcist series and film, ERASED, Uma Musume: Cinderella Gray two seasons) is designing the characters, and Satoshi Nemoto is credited for calligraphy and title lettering.
Shochiku describes the story:
In 1374, amid the turmoil of the Northern and Southern Courts' long running conflict, a boy named Oniyasha is born into a family of sarugaku theater performers. He spends his days in a kind of quiet gloom, haunted by a simple but persistent question: Why do people dance? Then, one day, he witnesses a dance that he feels to be “good”—and everything begins to change. This is the story of the beautiful young boy who would one day shape the art of Noh and be remembered as Zeami.
The Grow Up Show: Himawari no Circus-dan anime will premiere in Japan in July.
The anime stars:
Tomoka Noda as Mizuka Tsurumaki
Shiori Kurosaki as Ōka Kawasumi
Reo Osanai as Imari Agano
Nanako Ando as Isuzu Ikazuchi
Tomori Kusunoki as Aoi Yura
Yūko Natsuyoshi as Akane Yura
Yuna Kamakura as Shizuku Sakawa
Yuka Iwahashi as Svetlana
Rie Kugimiya as Maria
Ai Kayano as Rin Mamiya
Kanta Kamei (Oreshura, Dimension W, Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend) is directing the work, and Kurehito Misaki (Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend light novel illustrator) is the the original character designer. Takeshi Kikuchi (Skeleton Knight in Another World) is both writing and overseeing the series scripts. A-1 Pictures and Psyde Kick Studio are producing the anime.
The anime's story is set in the late 1950s and early 1960s, during the height of Japan's economic boom, when the circus is a major form of entertainment. Different circus troupes travel throughout Japan to perform and compete for a chance to participate in the world-renowned festival called "Circus Collection." One troupe called the "Sunflower Circus," led by its ringmaster Maria, travels around Japan to perform, despite struggling with financial difficulties. However, they meet a circus prodigy named Mizuka Tsurumaki. This is the story of a one-of-a-kind circus show of young girls with big dreams.
A-1 Pictures established Psyde Kick Studio as a new label in July 2025. The label was founded for the purpose of pursuing greater freedom of creative expression using the knowhow A-1 Pictures has cultivated until now. The label also hopes to explore new possibilities in animation unbound by existing frameworks, and to challenge young creators with innovative planning and production workflows.
The label is working on multiple new projects. Jun Katou (production supervisor for 86, Sword Art Online franchises) is the representative for the label.
