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Thursday, January 11, 2024 saw production studio Pony Canyon officially announce the Tohai mahjong anime’s production, which will adapt the original manga series of the same name. While the series did not get a full-fledged release date or even a monthly or seasonal release window, it was confirmed that the series would premiere sometime this year.
The Tohai mahjong anime series did confirm its key staff information, such as the script overseer, the director, the character designer, and the music composers for the production. It is expected that casting announcements and release date information for the series will be revealed in the coming weeks and months as 2024 progresses.
Likewise, it is generally expected that the Tohai mahjong anime series will premiere sometime in late 2024 assuming it does end up debuting within the 2024 calendar year itself. However, given that the series already has a general 2024 release window, it’s entirely possible that even the slightest hiccup with production pushes the series back to 2025.
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Tohai mahjong anime series set to premiere in 2024, but very likely to be delayed to 2025
The latest
As mentioned above, the Tohai mahjong anime announced its production with the latest release of news via animation studio Pony Canyon on Thursday, January 11, 2024. The announcement also came with a 40-second long teaser trailer, which introduced the series’ protagonist as a high school mahjong player named Kei with a “chilly playing style.” Likewise, this style has earned the boy the nickname “K of Ice.”
Based on the trailer, the series seems to follow this young protagonist nicknamed “K of Ice” in high-stakes mahjong games, where large sums of cash are bet on each game. While Kei’s voice actor is heard delivering a line in the final moments of the teaser trailer, the actual voice actor performing the role has seemingly yet to be announced by the production team.
What has been confirmed is the key staff for the anime production as mentioned above. Jun Hatori is set to direct the series at EAST FISH STUDIO, while Mariko Kunisawa is overseeing the series scripts. Sayaka Anesaki is designing the characters for the anime series, and Yusuke Shirato and Yuki Kishida are both composing the music for the series. It is expected that additional staff will be announced as the series releases more promotional material.
The series serves as a television anime adaptation of author and illustrator Koji Shinasaka’s original manga series of the same name. The manga was first serialized in Akita Shoten’s Young Champion magazine from 2006 to 2011, totaling 12 compilation volumes. There are also several other works in the franchise, with the currently ongoing Tohai: Cold Girl manga series having five volumes published. A sixth will ship in Japan on Thursday, January 18, 2024.
Be sure to keep up with all anime, manga, film, and live-action news as 2024 progresses.
