New Votoms Anime Confirms Staff and Two-Film Release
The rollout splits a new Votoms entry across two theatrical films, a structure that gives the franchise its first multi-part cinema release since the original 1980s run.
Reporting from 3 sources: Anime News Network, Siliconera (Anime), Niche Gamer (Anime).
Bandai Namco Filmworks announced that Armored Trooper Votoms: Die Graue Hexe will reach Japanese theaters as a two-part film series. The first part opens on November 20, 2026. The date arrived with a new trailer and key visuals. Original Votoms creator Ryōsuke Takahashi returns as supervising director. Kenji Kawai, known for his work on Mobile Suit Gundam 00, is composing the score. Mechanical design duties go to Yoshihiro Sono, who worked on Votoms: AT Stories, and Shinobu Tsuneki, whose credits include Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These. The project was first revealed in January 2026. The second film does not yet have a date. Bandai Spirits and Megahouse, two Bandai Namco subsidiaries, will produce merchandise tied to the films. Bandai Spirits plans a High Grade model kit and a Hi-Metal R figure of the Scopedog in a desert color scheme. Megahouse will release 8cm model kits in its VA-KIT Platoon line. More merchandise details are expected at the 64th Shizuoka Hobby Show, which runs May 16 and 17 at Twin Messe Shizuoka.
The original 1983 Votoms creator Ryōsuke Takahashi is supervising the project, not directing. The distinction appears across the source reports, with Anime News Network calling him "supervisor" and Siliconera using "supervising director." Sunrise is named alongside Bandai Namco Filmworks as a producing studio in the Siliconera report.
Kenji Kawai's attachment was noted for his Gundam 00 work, but his broader catalog includes scores for Ghost in the Shell, Ip Man, and the live-action Death Note films. The mechanical design team pairs a returning Votoms veteran with a designer from the newer Legend of the Galactic Heroes adaptation, a split that gives the production one foot in the franchise's past and one in contemporary sci-fi anime.
The merchandise rollout is unusually detailed for an announcement of this kind. Bandai Spirits is producing two distinct Scopedog items: a High Grade model kit and a Hi-Metal R figure, both in a desert color scheme. Megahouse is launching a line of 8cm kits under the VA-KIT Platoon brand. The 64th Shizuoka Hobby Show, set for May 16 and 17 at Twin Messe Shizuoka, will host the next wave of product reveals.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 3 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- Anime News Network New Votoms Anime Unveils Main Staff, 2-Film Rollout With 1st Opening on November 20
- Siliconera (Anime) Votoms: Die Graue Hexe Launch Date and Merchandise Shown
- Niche Gamer (Anime) Armored Trooper Votoms: Die Graue Hexe gets release date in new trailer