Even though we’re just a couple of weeks into the current Winter 2020 anime season, info about the upcoming Spring season of new anime releases is already beginning to pour in at a steady rate. While the Spring season lineup is full of high profile sequels, sci-fi series, and high fantasy galore, there are also some interesting and down-to-earth series making their debut. One such series is Wave, Listen to Me!, a manga adaptation that recently shared info on its lineup of voice actors and theme song performers.
Based on the manga Nami yo Kiite Kure (Wave, Listen to Me!) by Hiroaki Samura, the series is described below by official manga publisher Kodansha Comics:
The stage is Sapporo, Hokkaido. One night, our heroine, Minare Koda, spills her heartbroken woes to a radio station worker she meets while out drinking one night. The next day, she hears a recording of her pitiful grumbling being played live over the air. Minare storms into the station in a rage, only to then be duped by the station director into doing an impromptu talk show explaining her harsh dialogue. With just one recording, the many eccentric facets of Minare’s life begin to pull every which direction as she falls ever deeper into the world of radio.
Along with a full-length trailer for the upcoming anime, the official website for the series has shared info on the theme songs for the anime, as well as who is performing said tracks. The opening theme song is titled “aranami,” and will be performed by the duo tacica. The band members are actually big fans of manga author Samura, forming the group in Sapporo City where the series takes place. The ending theme song, “Pride,” will be performed by the musician Harumi.
Along with info on which musicians we’ll be hearing in Wave, Listen to Me!, the official website has also shared bios for each of the characters in the anime, along with the voice actors slated to play each character.
Riho Sugiyama voices the protagonist of Wave, Listen to Me!, Minare Koda. She’s a 26-year-old working at the soup curry restaurant Voyager, but an unexpected series of events lands her a gig as the host of the Moiwayama Radio Station’s (MRS) late-night program Nami yo Kiite Kure. She’s complemented by co-worker Mato for her natural skills, sharp abilities, and her powerful voice that can whip people into an uproar.
Shinshu Fuji voices Kanetsugu Mato, the chief director of the MRS production team who ends up roping Minare Koda into working for the station. He gives himself the title of “fixer” when it comes to him helping her find a career in radio.
Manaka Iwami voices Mizuho Nanba, the assistant director at MRS who’s been in love with the broadcast industry since she was a student. She may randomly laugh out loud at the most minor of things, but she’s also incredibly systematic and methodical. Also, she owns three turtles.
Kazuhiru Yamaji voices Katsumi Kurerko, who works as a contracted writer at MRS. While his main gig consists of writing erotic novels, he also spends some time writing more mainstream releases. He’s been in the radio industry for a long time, making a career of doing emergency script touch-ups and crafting fictional reader-submitted questions on the spot. He and Mato are old friends.
Sayaka Ohara voices Madoka Chishiro, one of the more well-known radio hosts working for MRS. She runs the mid-day program Chishiro Madoka no September Blue Moon that centers on lonely hearts, and ends up having protagonist Minare pour her heart out on the show, worrying Ohara greatly.
Kaito Ishikawa voices Ryusuke Komoto, an audio mixer working at MRS. He may be straight-laced and blunt when it comes to work, but he’s also an awkward mess when it comes to confronting his crush, Mizuho.
Masaaki Yano voices Chuya Nakahara, one of the employees at the soup curry restaurant Voyager who’s mainly in charge of cooking chicken. He may seem tough and intimidating, but he’s got a hidden soft-spot, and also has deep feelings for Minare.
Mamiko Noto voices Makie Tachibana, the sister of Voyager’s manager. When her brother got into an awful traffic accident, she felt like she was responsible, and decided to work at Voyager until her brother fully recovers.
Bin Shimada voices Yoshiki Takarada, the manager of the Voyager restaurant. An experienced restaurant manager in Sapporo, he may raise his voice at Minare all the time, but he’s supposedly famed for his skills in customer service.
Daisuke Namikawa voices Mitsuo Suga, an ex-boyfriend of Minare who scammed her out of 500,000 yen and then disappeared. He tries to reach out to her again when he hears her on the radio.
Kouki Uchiyama voices Shinji Oki, a neighbor of Minare’s in her apartment complex who seems like a normal, quiet guy. The fact that he has piles of salt in his room and shouts a woman’s name at night, though, raises some flags.
Wave, Listen to Me! is being produced at Sunrise, with Tatsuma Minamikawa set to direct the series. Shoji Yonemura is in charge of scriptwriting for the series, having previously worked on the Fairy Tail series. Takumi Yokoto of Mitsuboshi Colors fame is the character designer. Tsuyoshi Takahashi is the sound director, while Motoyoshi Iwasaki is composing music for the anime. Art directing is being handled by Hirofumi Sakagami, while Hironori Nochi is the color key artist. Mayuko Koike is the director of photography, and Yoshiaki Kimura is editing.
