When it comes to anime, there seems to be a series out there that can fulfill every possible niche interest imaginable. It may seem like an odd fascination to overseas readers, but railway trains are a major fascination and common hobby in Japan. Plenty of games, anime, and manga put an emphasis on these locomotives, and one such series for train-buffs is the visual novel Maitetsu. If you’ve never heard of the series or visual novels aren’t your cup of tea, though, then the newly announced anime adaptation Rail Romanesque might be right up your alley when it airs on October 2nd.
Based on the Maitetsu visual novel developed by Lose and published globally by Sekai Project, Rail Romanesque is set to be a short-form anime consisting of 12 five-minute episodes that will air on Tokyo MX. Plans for an English simulcast haven’t been announced yet, but plenty of short-form anime like these land on Crunchyroll each season, so it isn’t out of the question.
Sekai Project describes the original Maitetsu game that Rail Romanesque is based on as follows:
Maitetsu takes place in an alternate reality in Japan, where railroads were the most popular form of travel and transportation. But the difference with these railways is that the trains were paired up with humanoid modules called “Railords.” Due to a popular new form of travel, the railroads were practically forgotten about and eventually, railways were discontinued. Players will assume the role of Sotetsu, a recent high school graduate who, shortly after entering University, decides to return to his adoptive hometown to save it from water pollution caused by the proliferation of factories. By chance, Sotetsu reawakens “Hachiroku,” a recently decommissioned Railord. He becomes her owner and decides to assist her in finding her missing locomotive, the “8620,” while attempting to save his hometown in the process.
The story of Rail Romanesque, while based on the game, also includes a variety of brand new characters. So far, the confirmed cast is as follows:
- Aya Uchida as Ran, a Railord for the D51 840 locomotive
- Ai Furihata as Iyo, the Railord for the Iyokan Railway Kō 1-1 steam locomotive
- Tomoyo Kurosawa as Kurenai, the Railord for the Kiha 101 locomotive
- Yurika Kubo as Riiko, the Railord for the Tōbu Railway 5 locomotive
- Mai Nagai as Kakaa, the Railord for the Deha 101 locomotive
- Tenka Hashimoto (Tenchimu) as Shirogane, the Railord for the EF10 23 locomotive
- Ayaka Igasaki as Suika, a Railord for the Nakakuni Railroad Sōkō Tōtomi 4 2000 locomotive
- Sumire Uesaka as Suzushiro, a Railord for the C1267 locomotive
- Aya Suzaki as Kiko, a Railord for Nakoya Railroad’s Hoji 6016 locomotive
Rail Romanesque is being animated by studio Saetta, with Hisayoshi Hirasawa serving as chief director and sound director. Hirasawa previously worked on Yatogame-chan Kansatsu Nikki, Jingai-san no Yome, Miss Bernard said., and Netsuzou Trap -NTR-. Takayuki Noguchi, who previously worked on Cinderella Nine, Girls Beyond the Wasteland, and Queen’s Blade: Rebellion, will be designing the characters. Koichi Motomura, meanwhile, is writing the scripts for the anime.
Source: Anime News Network
