New art and details about the cast and crew for Netflix's upcoming Spriggan anime have been released.
On Thursday, the official website for anime studio David Production (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Fire Force) revealed a new visual and some staff details for its anime adaptation of the classic manga Spriggan (released as Striker in North America), written by Hiroshi Takashige and illustrated by Ryoji Minagawa. Previously teased back in October 2020, the Spriggan anime is set to debut exclusively on Netflix sometime in 2021.
David Production, which recently confirmed its involvement in the upcoming adaptation of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean, also revealed several members of Spriggan's cast and crew. Hiroshi Kobayashi (Kill la Kill, Kiznaiver, Rage of Bahamut: Genesis) is directing the anime, and Hiroshi Seko (Jujutsu Kaisen, Attack on Titan, Vinland Saga) is supervising and writing the scripts for each episode. Joining Kobayashi and Seko are assistant director Shōhei Miyake, CG director Norihito Ishii, color designer Osamu Mikasa, art director Yūji Kaneko and director of photography Yousuke Motoki.
Shūhei Handa (Kill la Kill, SSSS.Gridman, Little Witch Academia) will act as chief animation director, as well as character designer. Freelance Japanese graphic designer JNTHED (Metal Gear Solid series) will oversee production design. Lastly, voice actor Chiaki Kobayashi (Great Pretender, Vinland Saga, Moriarty the Patriot) will assume the role of Spriggan protagonist Yū Ominae, a high school student and Spriggan, an agent tasked with protecting ancient relics of a past civilization from anyone who should seek their power for ill.
Takashige's Cold War-era, sci-fi manga began serializing in 1989 and was briefly published as Striker in North America by VIZ Media, before the company stopped translating the series after Volume 3. However, the manga has still inspired multiple adaptations. Before Netflix's upcoming anime, there was an anime film directed by Hirotsugu Kawasaki and produced by Studio 4°C (Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, Berserk: The Golden Age Arc) that was released in 1998. From Software, the gaming studio that would go on to produce Dark Souls, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and the highly anticipated Elden Ring, also adapted the Spriggan manga and developed the 3D action-adventure game Spriggan: Lunar Verse for the Playstation in 1999.
Source: Spriggan Anime Website, via Anime News Network