Soukou Kihei Votoms: Haiiro no Majo Reveals Nakajima Mika and Takamizawa Toshihiko Theme Song

The completely new film in the Soukou Kihei Votoms series, Soukou Kihei Votoms: Haiiro no Majo (Hexe), is set for a nationwide release in Japan on November 20, 2026. As part of the Sunrise 50th anniversary project, the film has now unveiled its main visual, a pre-release trailer using the latest footage, and a theme song trailer featuring the music of Nakajima Mika and Takamizawa Toshihiko (THE ALFEE). An opening-day stage greeting has also been confirmed.

A New Votoms Story from Director Oshii Mamoru

Soukou Kihei Votoms: Haiiro no Majo is directed by Oshii Mamoru, the animation director known for GHOST IN THE SHELL / Koukaku Kidoutai. The film presents a new story in the landmark battlefield robot anime series Soukou Kihei Votoms.

The original Votoms TV series aired in 1983 and its world setting drew a major response. Since then, sequel anime, plastic model releases, and other developments have kept fans enthusiastic for more than 40 years. The TV series was set in the Astragius Galaxy after the end of the Hundred Years War. This film, however, is set near the end of that war and depicts the drama of soldiers who pilot humanoid weapons called AT (Armored Trooper) — specifically the “Scopedog” — and who are treated as expendable.

Under Oshii, the production brings together character original design by Kase Kazuya; character design by Nishio Tetsuya, Kojima Takashi, and Ogiso Shingo; original mechanical design by Okawara Kunio; mechanical design by Tsuneki Shinobu, Sono Yoshihiro, Ishiguchi Juu, and Inada Wataru; music by Kawai Kenji; and sound director Wakabayashi Kazuhiro. Takahashi Ryousuke, the original creator and director of Votoms, also serves as supervisor. Planning and production are handled by Sunrise, which marks its 50th anniversary, with Production I.G providing production cooperation.

The story centers on Ash Vamps, a soldier feared as a witch and voiced by Sawashiro Miyuki, and Maki Stauffenberg, a female officer of an independent propaganda unit who pursues the mystery surrounding Ash and is voiced by Andou Mabuki. The two women meet and fight to survive on a merciless battlefield in what is described as an ultimate action epic.

Main Visual and New Trailer

With the release about one month away, the main visual drawn by character designer Kojima Takashi has been revealed. It shows protagonist Ash Vamps holding a gun and casting a sharp gaze from a cockpit, with a Scopedog looming behind him.

A pre-release trailer using the latest footage has also arrived. It begins with Maki looking up at AT units lined up in a maintenance factory, then follows her as she investigates Ash, the “witch of the penal unit who always survives.” A line saying “The enemy isn’t only in front of us” hints at the human drama inside the front-line base and emphasizes the work’s mystery elements.

In the intense ground combat scenes featuring the “lowest bastards” — the Votoms — who take on harsh AT missions, the enemy Balarant army’s AT “Fatty” also makes its first appearance.

Theme Song by Nakajima Mika and Takamizawa Toshihiko

The film’s theme song has been set as Nakajima Mika’s “Na mo Naki Shijin no You ni.” The song was provided by Takamizawa Toshihiko (THE ALFEE), who is a big fan of Oshii’s works. Nakajima said that from the moment she heard the intro, Takamizawa’s unique worldview and the anime’s scenes spread before her, drawing her into the story at once. Takamizawa praised Nakajima, saying that her singing does not loudly proclaim hope nor sink into despair, but seems to carry a “power of song” that stands in between and lights a small flame deep in the darkness.

Nakajima Mika

I am very happy to be in charge of the theme song for Soukou Kihei Votoms: Haiiro no Majo. Takamizawa Toshihiko provided the song “Na mo Naki Shijin no You ni.” When I first received the demo, from the moment I heard the intro, Takamizawa’s unique worldview and the anime’s scenes spread out, and I was drawn into the story at once. Takamizawa, thank you for the wonderful song. I want to keep singing it carefully. I hope everyone enjoys the song together with the film.

Takamizawa Toshihiko (THE ALFEE)

What exactly is the Hundred Years War? While writing the lyrics, I thought about how life and death exist back to back amid intersecting despair and hope, and how a destiny one thought they had chosen can before long transform into an inescapable fate. On the sound side, I placed string and guitar riffs as if clashing against each other to express the tension drifting across the battlefield and the uneasy air of not knowing what might happen at any moment. If the strings are the surge of fate, the guitar is the human will to resist it. I made the song with the image of those two forces struggling against each other while pushing the whole track forward. Above all, Nakajima Mika’s presence was huge. Her singing does not loudly proclaim hope nor sink into despair; it stands in between and seems to carry a “power of song” that lights a small flame deep in the darkness. I am personally a fan of Oshii Mamoru’s works, so I feel very honored to have been approached for this. With that pleasant tension pushing me on, I finished the song with even more feeling than usual.

Opening-Day Stage Greeting

On November 20, the opening day, a stage greeting will be held at TOHO Cinemas Shinjuku in Tokyo. There will be two sessions: one after the 17:00 screening and one before the 20:10 screening. Mafia Kajita will host, and director Oshii Mamoru, Sawashiro Miyuki, Andou Mabuki, Miki Shinichirou, and Kaji Yuuki are scheduled to appear.

Admission is a special screening uniform price of 3,000 yen (tax included). Details are available on the official Soukou Kihei Votoms: Haiiro no Majo website and social media.

Work Information

Cast

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