The official website for the anime adaptation of Chie Shinohara’s Red River (Sora wa Akai Kawa no Hotori) shōjo manga has revealed a new promotional video and the main visual for the anime’s second cour. The video previews the anime’s new opening theme song, “Akatsuki no Hoshi” (Morning Star), by Nana Mizuki.
The cast of the Red River anime include:
- Mirai Tachibana as Yuri
- Wataru Katō as Kail Muršili (later King Muršili II)
- Hiroki Nanami as Satoshi Himuro and narrator
- Aya Uchida as Queen Nakia
- Shōya Chiba as Zannanza Hattušili
- Tomoaki Maeno as Ilbani
- Kōji Yusa as Urhi
- Kōsuke Toriumi as Prince Mattiwaza
- Tomohiro Ōno as Kikkuri
- Shiki Aoki as Hadi
- Natsumi Kawaida as Ryui
- Misato Matsuoka as Shala
- Haruki Ishiya as Kash
- Junya Enoki as Rusafa
- Shinichirō Kamio as Mittannamuwa
- Sōma Saitō as User Ramses
- Shun Horie as Juda Haspasrupi
- Nana Mizuki as Ursula
Kōsuke Kobayashi directs the anime at Tatsunoko Production. Yoriko Tomita oversees the series scripts, and Kenji Fujisaki is the character designer. Historical researchers for the anime include Kimiyoshi Matsumura and Daisuke Yoshida, who are members of the Japanese Institute of Anatolian Archaeology for the Middle Eastern Culture Center in Japan. Yoshihisa Hirano is composing the music, while Hiroto Morishita is the sound director. Team Kawadon is credited for sound production. Matsuyama will perform the new ending theme song “flow feat. Yūko Andō.”
Shinohara first serialized the manga from 1995 to 2002 in Shogakukan’s Shōjo Comic (Sho-Comi) magazine. VIZ Media released the manga in English in 2024, and 28 volumes were published.
Here’s an overview of the manga’s first volume, via VIZ Media:
Yuri, a pretty Japanese girl, is ecstatic after passing her college entrance exam and having her first kiss with her childhood friend-turned boyfriend. However, her luck soon changes. She starts to notice that water becomes agitated whenever she goes near it. One night, hands appear out of a puddle on the street and drag her into the water! Transported to an ancient village in the Middle East, she is then captured by armed troops and taken to the Queen’s palace for a human sacrifice.
