Boy band members Naniwa Danshi, Ryusei Onishi and Joichiro Fujiwara will voice the upcoming animated film Nintama Rantaro Dokutake Ninjatai Saikyo no Gunshi. The film is scheduled to premiere in Japanese theaters on December 20, 2024.
Onishi will voice Seiemon Sakuragi, while Fujiwara will play Kanbei Nakoji.
Masaya Fujimori (Kemono Jihen, Revenger) is directing the latest anime film, returning from his previous work on the 2011 series' Gekijo-ban Anime Nintama Rantaro Ninjutsu Gakuen Zenin Shutsudo! no Dan. Kazuhisa Sakaguchi is writing the script for the film. Ajia-do Animation Works is responsible for the animation production after working on the manga's Nintama Rantaro television anime series.
Returning voice actors from the film's starring series include:
• Minami Takayama as Rantaro Inadera • Mayumi Tanaka as Kirimaru Settsuno • Teiyu Ichiryusai as Shinbei Fukutomi • Toshihiko Seki as Hansuke Doi
The film is based on Sakaguchi's 2013 novel of the same name, about Rantaro's teacher, Hansuke Doi, taking on a teaching role at the Ninjutsu Academy.
The original manga series Rakudai Ninja Rantaro was created by Soubee Amako and published by The Asahi Shimbun Company in 1986. It was published in the children's magazine Asahi Shogakusei Shinbun until 2019, with a total of 65 tankobon volumes has been released.
The manga is inspired by an anime television series that aired from April 10, 1993 with a total of more than 2,000 episodes. The series is currently the longest running program on NHK.
© Soubee Amako/NINTAMA-MOVIE Project
Besides a 2011 animated film, the series also inspired a 1996 animated film and several video games. In 2011, Takashi Miike directed a live-action film adaptation titled Ninja Kids!!!
The main story follows a young ninja apprentice named Rantaro, who trains at an elite ninjutsu academy in historical Japan. He is joined by several elementary school students collectively known as “Nintama” (a combination of the Japanese words for “ninja” and “egg”).
Source: Ninja Rantaro's official Twitter
