The second act of "The Journey Leads the Way to Another World" will begin airing in January 2024. What's more, the long-awaited new series will be broadcast over two consecutive seasons, so you'll have plenty of time to enjoy the fantasy story of Wakasama, also known as Fukasumi Makoto, and his friends as they work to reform another world. In this article, ahead of the broadcast of the second act, we'd like to provide a recap and introduce the cast members who will be breathing life into the characters, including the new members. Before introducing the cast, we'd like to first introduce the original author, Azumi Kei, as well as the production company and staff.
Animation Production: J.C.STAFF
Originally a company specializing in OVAs, J.C.STAFF was founded by Tomoyuki Miyata, a former producer at Kitty Film Mitaka Studio. In 1994, J.C.STAFF was the prime contractor for the "Metal Fighter♥Miku" TV series, and has since focused primarily on TV series production.
What are your recent projects?
Since starting to work on TV series, they have consistently produced works every year. Their annual production volume is among the highest in the industry. Seven titles were broadcast in 2023. This year's productions include "EDENS ZERO," the second season of "The Duke of Death and His Maid," and the first and second seasons of "Sugar Apple Fairy Tail." Next year, they have a number of projects lined up, including "The Moon Leads the Way to Another World."
Director: Shinji Ishihira
Shinji Ishihira, the director of this series, has been involved in many projects, including directing, production, and storyboarding. He has also worked on numerous projects since his 2002 directorial debut, "Killer 1: The Animation Episode 0." While the production company for this second season has changed from C2C to J.C.STAFF, Director Ishihira will continue to serve as director from the first season. This will be very reassuring for fans who have watched the first season and are looking forward to the new season.
A stellar cast brings the story to life
The main cast of "The Journey to Another World Guided by the Moon" includes the young master, Makoto Miku, the invincible Mirage, Tomoe, the Black Spider of Calamity, Mio, the former Lich Shiki, and Emma, who leads the Asuka. Anyone who has seen the first act knows how impressive the cast is, playing these characters. Many new characters will also appear in the second act. First, I'd like to introduce the characters whose information has been released, and then introduce the rest of the cast, including the main characters.
Heroes Summoned Separately from Makoto
The story of the heroes summoned separately from Makoto, who only made one final appearance in the final episode of Act 1, will likely unfold at the beginning of Act 2. While Makoto was fighting Sophia and Lancer, the two heroes were fighting the demon army in a different location. The story of these two heroes, Hibiki Otonashi and Tomoki Iwahashi, is essential to the start of Act 2. Information about characters related to the heroes has also been released on the official website. I'd like to introduce the new cast members, including that information, later.
Makoto Fukasumi: Voiced by Natsuki Hanae
He's one of the most popular voice actors in Japan, so I'm sure many of you know him. He played the role of the Young Master brilliantly in the first act, perfectly capturing the character's image. The reason Tanjiro sometimes hears the Young Master's lines is because Hanae never thinks, "My voice tone overlaps with a specific character, so I'll deliberately choose a different tone." Hanae chooses the voice that best matches the character he's currently playing, so as not to diminish the appeal of that character. I believe this is why he was able to create the perfect Young Master for the series.
I Love Dubbing
Hanae seems to have been active in other fields recently. Not only as a narrator and radio personality, but also on ABEMA, and even opened a YouTube account on bilibili, a video sharing service in China, with over 370,000 subscribers as of May. However, he says that dubbing is what he loves and values the most, and he tries to balance it so that it doesn't interfere with his other work. This is surely a relief for anime fans.
Even his cat is making its debut!?
Hanae has been active this year in works such as "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - The Swordsmith Village Arc" and "The Story of a Dating Experienced You and a Experienced Me." Hanae is a huge cat lover and owns two cats named "Konpei" and "Miso." Konpei made her voice acting debut, playing the role of the cat "Ramune" in "Love All Play," a show Hanae also starred in. It's true, as the saying goes, "pets resemble their owners."
Tukimiti Tomoe: Voiced by Ayane Sakura
Ayane Sakura, who plays Tomoe, is also a talented and popular voice actress. While she is known for playing beautiful girls, she has also played a wide range of roles, from children to adults, quiet women to high-energy characters. She herself considered her natural voice to be rather low-pitched, and wanted to play young boys, but it was difficult to get offers. However, after playing Hayato Hayasugi in "Shinkansen Henkei Robo Shinkalion," she began receiving more offers.
Working as a Voice Actor
Sakura herself believes that "voice acting is a behind-the-scenes role," and has always tried to stay within the framework of voice acting. However, when she consulted a trusted staff member with whom she's worked for many years about the current state of voice acting, the response she received was, "It's a great privilege to be able to take on various challenges and then have the lessons learned fed back to the dubbing studio." This was an eye-opener for her. Since then, she's drawn a line for herself about what she's willing to do, and has been trying out various jobs within that line.
Mio Fukasumi: Voiced by Akari Kitou
Mio is played by popular voice actress Akari Kitou. Kitou's breakthrough came with the smash hit "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba." With a dramatic increase in TV appearances, she became better known even among people outside of anime fans. She herself credits the role as a catalyst for broadening her horizons as a voice actress, saying, "I've never played a character before, a character who expresses herself without speaking, with just a growl. She really changed my range of expression."
Activities as an Artist
Kitou is also actively involved in her artistic activities. She plays the lead role of Senagaki Ichisaki in the currently airing drama "Ojou to Ban'in-kun," while also singing the ending theme, her fifth single, "Magie×Magie." One of her dreams was to play the lead role in an anime adaptation of a shojo manga, so she was thrilled to be able to sing the ending theme in this series while also playing the lead role. She understands the feelings of the main character, Ichisaki, and the overall atmosphere of the series, and says she's focused more on "cuteness" than ever before in her artistic career.
Tukimiti Shiki: Voiced by Kenjiro Tsuda
It seems like there's a boom in "ikeoji" (older men with a cool personality) right now. Shiki is played by Kenjiro Tsuda, also known as "Tsudaken," a.k.a. "Tsudaken," a hot topic in the Reiwa era. Among voice actor fans, Tsuda is known as a "national treasure-level voice actor," and is highly sought after for his "low-pitched voice that exudes sexiness." His popularity further increased as he played the role of Nanamin (aka Kento Nanami) in "Jujutsu Kaisen," where his deep voice and Nanamin's cool personality perfectly complemented the role.
He's also a very successful actor
Recently, Tsuda has been actively working not only as a voice actor, but also as an actor. In the TV drama "Reversal Orchestra," he gave a passionate performance as a city council member who gets in the way of the main character, and in "Last Man: The Blind Investigator," he played the father of key characters Fukuyama and Oizumi. He recently appeared in NHK's "Ooku," and we're excited to see Tsuda's success as an actor. However, fans can rest assured that he also works as a voice actor with a powerful voice.
Emma: Voiced by Saori Hayami
After the protagonist, Makoto, is cast by the goddess, the first person he encounters in the wilderness at the edge of the world is the Highland Orc, Emma. This orc is voiced by the popular voice actress Saori Hayami. With such a star-studded cast, it's enough to make you excited to watch the film.
A Talented Voice Actress with a Wide Range of Roles
Hayami, with her gentle and clear voice, is often thought of as playing mysterious characters like shrine maidens, angels, and spirits, but in this work she plays an orc. However, this is no ordinary orc; she is gentle and kind, but scary and cute when angry, so Hayami's voice is a perfect fit. In person, Hayami is a talented voice actress with a wide range of roles, able to play everything from young girls to adult women, mysterious and active women, and ruthless villains and boys. In this work, she plays the most reliable orc, the leader, with a charming voice.
Hibiki Otonashi: Voiced by Ai Kakuma
Hibiki Otonashi, one of the heroes summoned separately from Makoto, is played by Ai Kakuma. Hibiki Otonashi is an essential character in the story of the second act. We're excited to see how Kakuma will portray the student council president, the epitome of academic and athletic excellence.
Voice Actors Who Have Shown Remarkable Achievements This Year
Kakuma worked as an office lady in Fukuoka for four years, but she couldn't give up on her dream of becoming a voice actress, so she moved to Tokyo and became a voice actress. Since her debut in 2012, she has steadily built up a track record. This year, she was cast as Nijigaoka Mashiro (Cure Prism) in the 20th installment of the popular anime series "PreCure," "Hirogaru Sky! PreCure," and has since appeared in various anime series every season. We can't wait to see Kakuma's upcoming role as Hibiki Otonashi.
Tomoki Iwahashi: Voiced by Ryohei Arai
Tomoki Iwahashi is the other hero summoned along with Hibiki Otonashi. Like Hibiki Otonashi, he is an essential character in the second act, and his voice actor is Ryohei Arai. He made his voice acting debut in 2012, the same year as Ai Kakuma, who plays Hibiki Otonashi. Many people may know him from his recent role as Jo Kuresawa in "Sasaki and Miyano." I'm looking forward to seeing how he will portray Tomoki Iwahashi, a hero with a slightly more quirky personality than Hibiki Otonashi.
Navarre Polar: Voiced by Ami Koshimizu
Navarre is a character who appears in the second act. He is a member of Hibiki Otonashi's Hero Party and a skilled mercenary nicknamed the Silver-Haired Demon. Navarre is an important character who will determine the path you take as a Hibiki Otonashi Hero. He is a central figure among the members of Hibiki Otonashi's Hero Party, so be sure to keep an eye on him.
From Takamimi-sama to Silver-Haired Demon
Speaking of Koshimizu, her performance as Elda in "Edomae Elf," which aired in April of this year, left a lasting impression on me. The reclusive elf who called out "Miko, Miko," this time plays a mercenary nicknamed the Silver-Haired Demon. Koshimizu has a wide range of roles to her name, so I'm excited to see what kind of Navarre she'll be.
Lili Front Gritonia: Voiced by Mai Nakahara
Lili Front Gritonia is the second princess of the Gritonia Empire, to whom Tomoki Iwahashi is summoned. She is a cunning princess who uses the hero Tomoki Iwahashi for her own benefit, not for the sake of her country. Mai Nakahara plays Lili. Nakahara is renowned for her portrayals of madness and anger, and is sometimes referred to by fans as a "yandere voice actress." Many fans are excited to see how she will portray the dark and hidden Lili.
Cast Summary
In addition to the main cast from Act 1, we've carefully selected the new cast members who will appear in Act 2. Looking back at the cast, you'll be amazed at how impressive it is. However, there are still many unique cast members who we weren't able to introduce this time. Just seeing the cast members makes you excited for Act 2. Thank you for reading to the end.
