After seven years of absence from anime production, scriptwriter, Masafumi Nishida, is back with a promising new tv series, and his first since TIGER & BUNNY. This time, he’ll be teaming up with MAPPA — the brilliant studio that brought us Yuri on Ice, Jujutsu Kaisen, Shingeki no Kyoujin, and Banana Fish, to name a few titles. Set to air later this year is the new water polo anime, RE-MAIN. Bandai Namco Arts will be assisting with production, as well.
The small synopsis of the Re-MAIN was also released.
In the winter of his third year of middle school, Minato Kyomizu quits playing water polo after certain events. When he enters high school, he starts up again thanks to new friends he meets and makes a promise. However, the water polo club is undergoing various difficulties, making it a struggle to stay afloat.
Cast announcements include the following:
- Yūto Uemura (Vinland Sanga, My Hero Academia) as Minato Kiyomizu.
- Kōtarō Nishiyama (Haikyu!!) as Eitarō Oka, Minato’s friend from middle school.
- Subaru Kimura (BEASTARS, Assassination Classroom) as Jō Jōjima, the captain of the water polo team.
- Lynn (Fire Force, Fire Emblem -Fates-) as Chinu Kawakubo, a famous water polo player who also seems to know about Minato’s troubled past.
- Note: Although four characters and cast members were announced, the official website had design silhouettes of four additional characters yet to be revealed.
Nishida-sensei will be involved in more than just the scriptwriting process. This time, he’ll be serving as RE-MAIN‘s Chief Director, Sound Director, and in charge of series composition. Additional staff announced include several noteworthy production agents as well as two staff members taking on what appears to be their first major project.
- Chief Director, Series Composition, Script, Sound Director: Masafumi Nishida
- Director: Kiyoshi Matsuda (Kakegurui××)
- Original Character Design: Kaori Huto
- Character Design: Shiho Tanaka (Twittering Birds Never Fly animation director)
- Music: Kana Utatane (Yama no Susume: Third Season opening theme arrangement)
Nishida-sensei gave further commentary for RE-MAIN on the official website, stating:
“After turning 40, I looked back on my life one night. I realized that my time spent playing water polo and swimming while in middle school and high school has impacted my outlook on life. That night, the desire to “create a story that lights a fire the hearts of junior and senior high school students” grew. RE-MAIN is the work we’re putting to together with that fire. I’m sincerely grateful to MAPPA and BANDAI NAMCO Arts for signing on to a water polo project, as water is very difficult to animate. We’re ready to swim to the very end with a wonderful staff and cast including Kiyoshi Matsuda and Yuuto Uemura!”
MAPPA also celebrated the announcement with the release of additional concept art drawn by Shiho Tanaka on their Twitter account.
【制作発表】
オリジナルTVアニメーション
『RE-MAIN（リメイン）』（@remain_anime）
2021年テレビ放送決定！キャラクターデザイン・田中志穂さんより、主人公・清水みなとの応援イラストが到着いたしました！
続報をお楽しみに！https://t.co/chkoFg2oub#re_main pic.twitter.com/6kG9K30rMb
— MAPPA (@MAPPA_Info) March 5, 2021
RE-MAIN is slated to air in Japan this year. Currently, no seasonal release window has been decided. You can keep up with all media related to the new anime on their official Twitter.
