Tomokazu Seki Casts as Kunishige Rokuhira in Kagurabachi Anime
The casting of Tomokazu Seki, a veteran voice actor known for roles like Gilgamesh in Fate/stay night, signals the production's ambition to match the manga's popularity, which has already surpassed 4 million copies in circulation.
Reporting from 2 sources: Anime News Network, Anime Corner.
The official website for the television anime adaptation of Takeru Hokazono's Kagurabachi manga announced on Friday that Tomokazu Seki will voice Kunishige Rokuhira, the father of protagonist Chihiro. A character visual and a trailer featuring Seki's performance were also released. The anime is set to premiere in April 2027. It is produced by studio Cypic, with Tetsuya Takeuchi directing and Keigo Sasaki handling character design. The anime's world tour will begin in July 2026 at Anime Expo in Los Angeles, followed by stops in Paris, Germany, and New York, where the first 20 minutes of the first episode will be shown. The tour concludes in Japan in spring 2027 with a full first-episode screening. Seki, in a Q&A, described Kunishige as a legendary swordsmith and a warmhearted father, and said he aimed to convey both sides naturally. The manga, which debuted in September 2023, has 4 million copies in circulation as of May 2025.
The anime's production committee includes Shochiku and CyberAgent, the latter of which established the game developer Cygames in 2011 and the anime production subsidiary Cygames Pictures in 2016. Director Tetsuya Takeuchi is known for animating the Rock Lee vs. Gaara fight in Naruto and previously directed From Bureaucrat to Villainess: Dad's Been Reincarnated!.
In a Q&A with the cast announcement, Seki said he was "truly happy" to get the role and described Kunishige's charm as "the strength with which he upholds his convictions, as well as his ability to love deeply." He called the series "a spirit passed down" and said he aims to convey "the bright and fun nature of his everyday humorous side, as well as the weight behind every single word in the scenes where he speaks of his convictions as a swordsmith."
The manga has received multiple industry recognitions. It topped the print category in the Next Manga Awards 2024, was nominated for the 70th Shogakukan Manga Awards in December 2024 and the 49th annual Kodansha Manga Awards in April 2025, and was nominated for the 2025 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards. It ranked at #13 in Da Vinci's top manga titles of 2025. The first teaser trailer for the anime exceeded 6 million views within 24 hours.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 2 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.