April is the beginning of a brand new anime season, and with that arrives a variety of brand new shows for long-time anime aficionados and first-time viewers alike to watch. Some April debuts are follow-up seasons of existing series like My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU or Kaguya-sama: Love is War. Others are debut original series, or anticipated adaptations of highly successful manga. Every season, though, it’s guaranteed that a handful of premiering anime will be adaptations of light novels. This upcoming spring season is no exception, with one of the many upcoming light novel adaptations being Hachinantte Sore wa Nai Deshō! (The 8th son? Are you kidding me?). Now, a new announcement has revealed some new visuals and a lengthy list of cast members for the fantasy series.
The official website for The 8th son? Are you kidding me? dropped a new poster visual for the series, alongside information on eight cast members who will be joining the series:
- Hiro Shimono as Erwin von Alnim
- Tomohito Takatsuka as Roderich
- Shizuka Ishigami as Wendelin (young)
- Tomokazu Sugita as Kurt
- Yukana as Amalie
- Daisuke Namikawa as Alfred
- Yūsaku Yara as Brantack Lyngstad
- Masashi Yamane as Klimt Kristoff von Armstrong
They’re joined by the previously revealed main cast of The 8th son? Are you kidding me?, which consists of the following actors and characters:
- Junya Enoki as Wendelin
- Asuka Nishi as Elize
- Yuuna Mimura as Louise
- Mikako Komatsu as Iina
- M.A.O as Vilma
In the original light novel story of The 8th son? Are you kidding me?, everyday salaryman Shingo Ichinomiya wakes up one day to find himself in a brand new body — the body of a five-year-old boy named Wendelin. To make matters even more bizarre, Wendelin is the eighth son in a destitute noble family that lives in a colorful fantasy world.
The anime adaptation, which is set to premiere in April, will be produced by Shinei Animation and Synergy SP. Tatsuo Miura, previously an episode director on Kaiketsu Zorori, Mahō no Princess Minky Momo: Yume o Dakishimete, and Okusama wa Maho Shojo, will serve as series director for this anime. Fuzichoco is credited as the original character designer, while Keiji Tanabe of Caligula and Good Luck Girl! fame will be responsible for adapting those designs for animation. Series composition is being handled by Takeshi Miyamoto, who previously worked on the script for Trickster and the screenplay for the live-action Fullmetal Alchemist film.
Interestingly, the music for the anime adaptation of The 8th son? Are you kidding me? won’t just be composed by any regular Japanese musician or anime composer. Instead, music composition for the series is being credited to the Catherina Ancient Music Ensemble. They’re a group that specializes in playing Middle Ages-era and Renaissance-era European instruments, which is sure to bring an incredibly unique flair to the sounds of this show. They’ll be joined by Minako Seki, a composer for Kingdom and Black Clover who will also be contributing music to the series.
Y.A. first published the original Hachinantte Sore wa Nai Deshō! series on the website Shōsetsuka ni Narō (Let’s Become Novelists) back in June of 2013, with its original run there ending March 2017. Kadokawa later went on to re-publish the story in September of 2015 in a series of print volumes with brand new illustrations provided by the artist of R.O.D Rehabilitation, Fuzichoco. On top of that, Hiroki Kusumoto has been illustrating a manga version of the story for Kadokawa’s ComicWalker website since 2015.
There’s also a video game version of The 8th son? Are you kidding me? coming soon. In the mobile game, players will get to take on the role of a different adventurer who travels with Wendelin and the other heroes of the original story. The story of the game will be entirely original, but it will be penned by original series author Y.A. and is supposed to tie into the story of the anime. The game is set to release for iOS and Android later this year in Japan.
