The TV anime Onyo Kaiten Re:Birth is currently airing on Fuji TV’s “+Ultra” block and other channels. With its unpredictable scenario developments drawing significant attention, an official interview featuring the main cast members, including Kimura Taifei, Uchida Maaya, Kimura Ryohei, and Ishikawa Kaito, has been released, where they discuss the highlights of the early episodes.
TV anime Onyo Kaiten Re:Birth main cast Kimura Taifei, Uchida Maaya, Kimura Ryohei, Ishikawa Kaito group photo
Onyo Kaiten Re:Birth is the first original TV anime produced by david production, the studio behind the Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure series. The story follows Takeru, a hot-blooded yankee high school student who, after an unexpected accident, is transported to “Denji Heiankyo.” To save the life of the heroine Tsukimiya, whom he meets there, he repeatedly confronts the threats assailing the city by looping through time. It depicts an unpredictable time-loop rescue drama where he repeatedly encounters Tsukimiya and the strongest Onmyoji, Abe no Seimei, and confronts a harsh fate with an indomitable spirit.
The original concept and direction are handled by Takahashi Hideya, known for works like Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind and Urusei Yatsura. Mori Hayashi (SAND LAND: THE SERIES, Cells at Work! BLACK) is in charge of the series composition, Morita Kazuaki (Classroom of the Elite, Assassination Classroom) handles character design, and Tokuda Masahiro (drama silent, film Last Mile) is responsible for the music.
In addition to this staff, light novel author Sato Akuto participated in the plot concept, and science fiction author Shibata Katsuie was involved in world-building research and historical accuracy, making this a grand project. A manga adaptation by Matsumoto Kyuujo is also serialized in Kodansha’s “Morning Two.”
Onyo Kaiten Re:Birth key visual
Drawing attention for its unpredictable scenario development, an official interview featuring the main cast members, including Kimura Taifei as the protagonist Takeru, Uchida Maaya as Tsukimiya, Kimura Ryohei as Abe no Seimei, and Ishikawa Kaito as Atsunaga, has been released. They discuss the highlights of the early episodes. Starting with their impressions upon reading the script, they also touch upon the characters they play. It’s definitely worth reading in preparation for the upcoming broadcasts.
Onyo Kaiten Re:Birth scene cut
Onyo Kaiten Re:Birth, the first original TV anime from david production (of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure fame), is broadcasting every Wednesday at 24:45 on Fuji TV’s “+Ultra” block and other channels. The manga adaptation is serialized in Kodansha’s “Morning Two” on the first Thursday of every month, and the first volume is already on sale.
Onyo Kaiten Re:Birth scene cut
Official Interview
――Onyo Kaiten Re:Birth is an original anime. Could you share your thoughts when you first read the script?
Kimura Ryohei (hereafter Ryohei): I thought the mix of cyber and Onmyoji was interesting. The first episode only covers the introduction to the story, but even from the information in the script, I could sense the atmosphere of the town and its culture, feeling it was a unique world. Moreover, since it’s an original story with battles, and I heard the narrative is quite deep, I was excited and curious to see how interesting it would become.
Kimura Taifei (hereafter Taifei): Onmyoji, cyber, reincarnation, loops, yankees, romance… I thought, “Wow, that’s a lot of information!” (laughs). My impression was that reincarnation stories are often set in a Western fantasy world, and the cyber world setting felt different from recent reincarnation trends. Including those aspects, I felt this work had the potential to be really interesting, and my expectations grew.
Uchida Maaya (hereafter Uchida): The materials I received for the audition were really interesting, and they captivated me quite a bit. Tsukimiya, the character I play, had a tremendous amount of information even just in the initial audition materials. I was surprised thinking, “They’re going to do all this in one cour?!” But precisely because of that, I wanted to play this role and auditioned. After getting the role and reading the story, it was interesting just as I expected. While it includes various elements, the more you dig into it, the more charm Onyo Kaiten Re:Birth reveals.
Ishikawa Kaito (hereafter Ishikawa): To be honest, my first impression was that the pacing was so fast I had no idea what was going on. I think many viewers might feel the same way. Even the first episode didn’t explain things in detail; it was more like, “This happened, then that happened, and we’re just going to plow through like this!” (laughs). But that’s what makes it exciting, isn’t it? It was a script that sparked curiosity, a continuous stream of “What on earth is happening?”
――Please tell us about the characters you played and your impressions of performing them. First, Narihira Takeru, a yankee high school student who got lost in Denji Heiankyo after an unexpected accident, is completely infatuated with Tsukimiya. He’s also the type who sees things through once he’s decided.
Taifei: Takeru lost his parents and runs a Chinese restaurant with his grandfather. He’s a straightforward, good guy. But he’s also really dense, and since I have a simple side myself, I felt like I just fit into the role naturally (laughs). When performing, I had to shout a lot, so I watched a lot of Dragon Ball movies before recording (laughs). Also, for the first episode recording, when I get a character with a name, I always get into the look first. So, for this work, I wore a flashy shirt that Takeru might wear and went to the studio with my hair slicked back.
――Tsukimiya is a dancer who enjoys idol-like popularity in Denji Heiankyo. Takeru calls her “Zokkon-san” (Miss Totally Smitten).
Uchida: Regarding Tsukimiya, the portrayal often felt like Takeru’s perspective of Tsukimiya rather than Tsukimiya herself. Reading the script, I felt she was a character whose true intentions were hard to grasp. So, my initial approach was to play Tsukimiya from Takeru’s viewpoint, trying to bring out the character’s cuteness and charm from within her in each moment. She’s super cute, she can dance, and she makes you think, “She likes me, doesn’t she?!” but there’s also an elusive impression about her. Takeru has feelings for her, so he accepts her cuteness, but I think there’s a question of what her true feelings are.
――So, she’s someone viewers might also become totally smitten with?
Uchida: I consciously tried to make viewers see Tsukimiya through Takeru’s eyes and think, “She’s so cute!” During recording, I was also told, “You can make her cuter,” so I tried to put a little extra into my performance.
――Abe no Seimei is the strongest Onmyoji, standing at the pinnacle of the Onmyoji who protect Denji Heiankyo.
Ryohei: He’s a powerful Onmyoji, a figure who unites everyone, but he’s always smiling and kind to everyone, making him a really good person. And he’s very reliable. I think he’s a wonderful presence.
Uchida: Eh?! Is that really true? (laughs).
Taifei: But there are still many things we can’t say, right?
――At the beginning, what kind of direction did you take for your performance?
Ryohei: Honestly, I performed with the idea that it’s okay if he looks a little suspicious. From Takeru’s perspective, he probably sees him like the mysterious city of Denji Heiankyo itself, and there’s an aspect, especially in the first half of the story, of whether that city will accept Takeru. So, I thought it was fine for him to have a sense of profoundness and unfathomable depth in my performance.
――Atsunaga is an elite Onmyoji and a diligent worker who never neglects his training.
Ishikawa: Atsunaga is quite an idiot in a different way than Takeru (laughs). From the audition, he had a lot of gag lines, and even in the character PV, only about 10% of his lines were serious.
His position is serious and sincere, and he’s an elite Onmyoji, but his portrayal is often comical, which made him a rewarding character to play (laughs). However, watching the show, I realized that if this work was set in Denji Heiankyo without Takeru, it would likely be portrayed as a story about him aiming for the top.
So, I approached the recording hoping to convey his background and history in my performance.
――He has elements of a protagonist, doesn’t he? At first, I thought he was a cool character, but then things started to get a little strange.
Ishikawa: Being overly serious is funny, isn’t it? (laughs). So, when performing, I didn’t try any curveballs; I played him straight. He’s a character who doubts what should be doubted and believes what should be believed, I think.
ーーThis work is a story where Takeru repeats time loops to resist a future where Tsukimiya loses her life to monsters called “Oni” (怨人). This means the people around Takeru repeatedly experience meeting him for the first time. What was it like playing that?
Taifei: The person doing the looping doesn’t have their memory reset, but he doesn’t seem very flustered by it. He carries the sense of familiarity he built in the previous loop. So, the reactions of those around him are also different from the initial “nice to meet you.” It’s like, “He’s acting like we’re great friends, but who is this guy?” I think seeing the changes in the reactions of others is also an interesting part.
――How about being treated as if they’re meeting you for the first time?
Taifei: I don’t think he minds that at all either (laughs).
Ishikawa: It’s like, “Oh yeah, sorry, sorry, this is our first time meeting!” (laughs).
Taifei: That’s right. But he’s got that vibe like, “It’s okay, we’re definitely going to become friends!”
Uchida: Tsukimiya was played as if meeting him for the first time, but I think Takeru’s presence pulls her along. He’s an anomaly in this world, but Takeru pushes forward no matter what happens, so maybe that’s where a captivating attraction is born? That’s what I thought as we progressed through episodes 1 and 2.
――Then, please share your impressions after seeing the anime’s visuals.
Taifei: The animation is incredibly clean, and it moves really well. They call the black mist that appears when the “Oni” arrive “Yamikaoru” (闇薫る), and I really like the way the neon lights look during that. When the surroundings darken and are illuminated from below, it looks so cool. And the enemy “Oni” are cool too, but the Shikigami designs are also innovative; they look like robots. And the fact that two Onmyoji control them from different places was also fresh.
*Damage taken by Shikigami is fed back to the operator’s mind, and the Onmyoji dies if the Shikigami is completely destroyed.
Uchida: Since it’s an original anime, I think the introduction is especially important, and my first impression was how beautiful the visuals are. Takeru’s original world and Denji Heiankyo are completely different, and the people living there have diverse hair colors, creating a captivating charm that makes you wonder what kind of world this is. The subtly unsettling world is really wonderful. Tsukimiya’s dance scenes are also incredibly beautiful; I thought, “Yeah, Takeru would totally fall for that” (laughs).
Ryohei: Things that feel like the near future, which are certainly not from the present day, coexist within backgrounds that look like old period dramas I’ve seen since I was a kid. Perhaps the principles of Onmyoji techniques are at work there, but that kind of displacement excited me. And when the battles start, it feels like a robot anime… I felt it was a world with great breadth, making me want to see the parts that weren’t depicted.
Ishikawa: The visuals have incredible speed. There’s a lot of information, and the story moves forward rapidly, so you don’t get tired watching it. The next development comes before you can overthink, so I think it’s truly a whirlwind of events. The visuals are also great, the Onmyoji techniques are super cool, and the moves have impact. In recent animation, 3DCG is used there, but the cyber world and Onmyoji techniques blend together really well. Also, the small details are very cool. I wanted to buy the items the Onmyoji wear on their hands.
――Finally, please tell us the key points you’d like viewers to pay attention to in the TV anime Onyo Kaiten Re:Birth.
Ryohei: There’s the charm of the setting and the characters, but the sense of unease you feel while watching, the parts that feel strange, I think those are the “mysteries” of a loop story. It’s not just a story where this world loops on its own and everyone is just troubled; there might be someone’s scheme or a large, unseen event happening there. I think figuring out those mysteries while following the story is the fun part. Now, who will you start to suspect?
Uchida: Watching this story, I felt they were also depicting difficult things properly. This becomes stronger as the story progresses into the latter half, but I hope viewers don’t stop watching there. Since it’s an original anime, we don’t know what will happen, but I hope you let yourselves be tossed around by the developments. I believe there’s something the creators want to convey in those parts, so please look forward to seeing how it concludes. I’m looking forward to it too.
Ishikawa: Various “Oni” come to Denji Heiankyo and are repelled, but the designs of the “Oni” are amazing. Each one is unique and clearly well-thought-out, so I hope you’ll pay attention to the enemies as well when you watch.
Taifei: As everyone mentioned, there are many fascinating elements, and it might be overlooked, but the core question is why Takeru can loop in the first place. There’s a mystery surrounding Takeru’s very existence and his power. Along with the mystery of this world, there’s a lot to ponder. So, watching while re-examining the detailed scenes might be interesting!
Onyo Kaiten Re:Birth Series Information
Airing on Fuji TV’s “+Ultra” block and more!
Broadcasting every Wednesday at 24:45~
Fuji TV: Every Wednesday 24:45~
Kansai TV: Every Thursday 26:15~
Tokai TV: Every Saturday 25:45~
Fukushima TV: Every Wednesday 24:45~
Hokkaido Cultural Broadcasting: Every Thursday 24:55~
Ishikawa TV: Starting July 29th, every Tuesday 24:45~
*Broadcast times are subject to change without notice.
Also available on various streaming services.
Staff
| Original Work | Sakunofuji Ko |
| Original Concept/Director | Takahashi Hideya |
| Series Composition | Mori Hayashi |
| Character Design | Morita Kazuaki |
| Plot Concept | Sato Akuto |
| Worldview Research/Historical Accuracy | Shibata Katsuie |
| Concept Art | Kitsuneiro |
| Music | Tokuda Masahiro |
| Opening Theme | “CRY OUT CRY OVER” by Who-ya Extended |
| Ending Theme | “TURN OVER” by 9Lana |
| Animation Production | david production |
Cast
| Narihira Takeru | Kimura Taifei |
| Tsukimiya | Uchida Maaya |
| Abe no Seimei | Kimura Ryohei |
| Atsunaga | Ishikawa Kaito |
| Yura | Nagase Anna |
| Kazura | Inoue Marina |
| Shino | Yoshitake Chihaya |
(C) Sakunofuji Ko / “Onyo Kaiten Re:Birth” Production Committee
_
