#Chiaki Kobayashi Voices The Protagonist Yu Ominae in New Spriggan Anime

The official Twitter for Netflix Anime Japan announced today that 26-year-old Chiaki Kobayashi (Makoto Edamura in GREAT PRETENDER, Louis James Moriarty in Moriarty the Patriot) is cast as the protagonist Yu Ominae in the forthcoming new anime adaptation of Hiroshi Takashige (story) and Ryouji Minagawa (art)’s sci-fi action shonen manga Spriggan. 

The manga was originally serialized in Shogakukan’s Weekly Shonen Sunday from 1989 to 1996 and compiled in 11 tankobon volumes. Its story follows the adventure of Yu Ominae, one of the top agents called “Spriggan” at the ARCAM Private Army whose purpose is to seal the ancient civilization’s artifacts in order to prevent them from being used for human wars. In the previous anime feature film adaptation in 1998, the character was voiced by Showtaro Morikubo.

Kobayashi says, “It’s a popular work with a long history, so I was very happy, but at the same time I was conscious of a great sense of responsibility,” and “I’d like people of my generation and people who don’t usually watch anime to watch it. Or rather, I think those people are the ones who will love it. I’m sure they will be stimulated in a way they don’t usually feel.”

Then he sends message to the fans of the series, “To all the Spriggan fans in the world, thank you for your patience. In order to satisfy your desire for Spriggan, the staff and cast who love this work are working together to make it with all their might. I myself have been playing Yu Ominae with my throat almost crushed in every episode to keep up with the passion of the original series, so please look forward to it!” 

The new anime Spriggan will be streamed on Netflix in 2021. Hiroshi Kobayashi (Dragon Pilot: Hisone and Masotan) is attached to direct at david production (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure).

Source: Netflix Anime Japan official Twitter

©2021 Hiroshi Takashige, Ryouji Minagawa, Shogakukan/Spriggan Project