Red River Anime’s Teaser Reveals Cast, Staff, and July Premiere Date
The highly anticipated anime adaptation of Chie Shinohara’s classic shōjo manga, Red River (Sora wa Akai Kawa no Hotori), is set to premiere in July 2026 in Japan on the NTV and BS NTV channels. A teaser promotional video released on Tuesday revealed key cast members, additional staff details, and the official premiere timeframe.1
Cast and Characters
The announced cast includes:
- Mirai Tachibana as Yuri Suzuki
- Wataru Katō as Kail Muršili (later King Muršili II)
- Hiroki Nanami as Satoshi Himuro (also serving as the narrator)
Production Staff
The anime is being directed by Kōsuke Kobayashi (known for Waccha PriMagi! and Alice or Alice) at Tatsunoko Production. Yoriko Tomita (The Elusive Samurai, My Dress-Up Darling) is overseeing the series scripts, and Kenji Fujisaki (YU-NO: A girl who chants love at the bound of this world., Blood Lad) is responsible for character design.1
Additional staff members include Yoshihisa Hirano as the musical composer, Hiroto Morishita as the sound director, and Team Kawadon for sound production.
Historical Accuracy and Research
The production team is prioritizing historical accuracy, with Kimiyoshi Matsumura and Daisuke Yoshida, both members of the Japanese Institute of Anatolian Archaeology at the Middle Eastern Culture Center in Japan, serving as historical researchers.1 This commitment aims to faithfully represent the setting of the Hittite Empire during the reign of King Suppiluliuma I.
About Red River
Red River, originally serialized in Shōgakukan’s Sho-Comi magazine from January 1995 to June 2002, follows the story of Yuri Suzuki, a fifteen-year-old Japanese girl who is transported back in time to the Hittite Empire in Anatolia.1 She becomes entangled in the political intrigue of the era and is initially targeted for a human sacrifice by Queen Nakia. The manga consists of 28 volumes and has sold over 20 million copies.1
Viz Media initially released the manga in English in 2004, completing all 28 volumes by 2010. They began re-releasing the series in 3-in-1 omnibus editions in October 2024, with the seventh volume scheduled for release on April 21.1
The manga previously inspired a stage play by the Takarazuka Revue in 2018.1