Just when
we thought that the great classics of the 2000s had already had their chance on
the small screen, the industry decided to surprise the year by dusting off a
true gem of dark fantasy. Publisher Square Enix officially confirmed that the
acclaimed manga Vampire Jujikai (The Record of a Fallen Vampire)
will make the leap to television with its own anime adaptation, scheduling its
premiere in 2027.
The
announcement was accompanied by the opening of its official website, revealing
a first video preview, a promotional image and the main voices that will
spearhead the project. Actor Yuma Uchida will lend his voice to Rose Red
Strauss, the pure-blood king and last monarch of the Night Kingdom, while Aino
Shimada will play Bridget Irving Frostheart, a dhampir who has survived for
more than a thousand years.
The plot
transports viewers to a millennia-old conflict where the vampire king Akabara
"Red Rose" Strauss lost his empire and queen to humans. Unable to
destroy the queen, humanity chose to seal her in a secret location, erecting
thousands of false seals around the world to prevent the monarch from finding
her whereabouts. Despite being relentlessly pursued by dhampir warriors,
Strauss continues to travel the Earth without losing hope, also facing the
fearsome entity known as the Black Swan, a force that incarnates in a young
human every fifty years with the sole objective of annihilating the king and
his sovereign.
The
direction of the anime will be in charge of Mankyu within the Zero-G
and Liber studios, who will also assume the writing and supervision of
the scripts. The visual section will feature character designs adapted by jimao,
while the soundtrack will be signed by acclaimed composer Evan Call.
Vampire
Jujikai is a manga
series written by Kyo Shirodaira (author behind great works such as In/Spectre
and Blast of Tempest) and illustrated by Yuri Kimura. The work
began publication in Square Enix's Shonen Gangan magazine in December
2003, concluding in April 2007 with a total of nine compilation volumes. To
celebrate the return of the franchise, the duo of authors will launch a new
spin-off manga in the same magazine starting October 9 under the title Vampire
Jujikai: Inu ni wa Inu no Uta.
