WIT Studio is back with another exciting looking project, this time a brand new anime adaptation of Yaiba.
While it’s a bit of a newer studio compared to some of the other more established names out there, WIT Studio has certainly proven itself with some bigger projects like Spy x Family and Suicide Squad Isekai, not to mention the opening and 2D cutscenes from Persona 3 Reload. Now, they’re back with another classic, Yaiba, a series that follows the titular character Yaiba Kurogane, a young samurai who takes inspiration from real-world samurai Miyamoto Musashi. If you take a look at the trailer below and think “huh, I vaguely recognise that style,” that’s because the manga the anime is based on is from Gosho Aoyama, best known for the long running Cased Closed series (also commonly known as Detective Conan).
The first trailer is just a short one at around 30 seconds long, but it honestly looks really fun and expressive in the little time it does run for. Takahiro Hasui is directing the series, who previously served as an episode director on Mob Psycho 100 and Bungo Stray Dogs, with Inu-Oh chief animation director Yoshimichi Kameda serving as character designer and chief animation director.
This isn’t actually the first time the manga has received an anime adaptation. It first got one back in 1993, running for a total of 52 episodes, with the director of pretty much every single Pokemon movie Kunnihiko Yuyama helming that version. In terms of cast, the voice of Conan Edogawa is actually voicing the protagonist Yaiba, reprising her role from the original series (she was also married to Aoyama for a couple of years, though apparently even post-divorce their relationship is good). Manaka Iwami (Oshi no Ko) will be playing Sayaka Mine in this version, and Yoshimasa Hosoya (My Hero Academia, Mob Psycho 100) will play Takeshi Onimaru.
Right now there’s no release date on the new version of Yaiba, so if you’re interested, you’ll just have to keep your eyes peeled.
This isn’t the only anime remake WIT Studio is working on either, as it’s also doing one of the iconic series One Piece.