The anime series based on Rieko Hinata’s Hikari no Ō fantasy novel series unveiled a teaser visual and more staff members. The series will debut in January 2023 on Wowow.
The new staff includes Takuya Saito as a character designer; Takuya Saito, Kazuchika Kise, and Toshihisa Kaiya as chief animation designers; Kenji Kawai as the music composer, and Kazuhiro Wakabayashi as the sound director.
Junji Nishimura (Ranma ½) is directing the anime at Signal.MD, and Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell) is overseeing and writing the scripts.
Hikari no Ō is a Japanese fantasy novel series written by Rieko Hinata and illustrated by Akihiro Yamada. Holp Shuppan has published four volumes between December 2018 and September 2020.
The story begins with Tōko, a young girl from a paper-making town who finds herself in the forbidden forest, assailed by flamelings, when a flame catches and rushes to protect her. In another place, a young capital-born boy named Kōshi shelters his younger sister after losing his mother to factory poison.
▍Hikari no Ō Anime Staff
Original Work: Rieko Hinata
Original Character Design: Akihiro Yamada
Director: Junji Nishimura
Series Composition: Mamoru Oshii
Script: Mamoru Oshii
Music: Kenji Kawai
Character Design: Takuya Saito
Chief Animation Director: Kazuchika Kise, Takuya Saito, Toshihisa Kaiya
Sound Director: Kazuhiro Wakabayashi
Animation: Signal.MD