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Historical anime "Red River" premieres on 7 July

May 21, 2026
Red River main visual
Red River drops this Summer (Image: 篠原千絵/​小学館/​アニメ「天は赤い河のほとり」​製作委員会).

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A 21st century teen finds herself transported back in time to ancient Anatolia. 

The upcoming time-travelling historical shoujo anime “Red River” has unveiled a new main visual, as well as its 7 July debut. The announcement was also paired with additional cast reveals. 

The main visual:

Who are the additional cast members for Red River?

The additional cast members are:

  • Tomohiro Ono as Kikkuri
  • Shiki Aoki as Hadi
  • Natsumi Kawaida as Ryui
  • Misato Matsuoka as Shala
  • Haruki Ishiya as Kash
  • Junya Enoki as Rusafa
  • Shinichiro Kamio as Mittannamuwa

Previously revealed cast members are:

Main:

  • Mirai Tachibana as Yuri Suzuki
  • Wataru Kato as Kail Mursili
  • Hiroki Nanami as Narrator/ Himuro

Additional:

  • Aya Uchida as Queen Nakia 
  • Shōya Chiba as Zannanza Hattušili 
  • Tomoaki Maeno as Ilbani 
  • Kōji Yusa as Urhi
  • Kōsuke Toriumi as Prince Mattiwaza

Who are the staff members behind Red River?

Kosuke Kobayashi directs the Red River anime at Tatsunoko Production, with Yorika Tomita handling series composition. Kenji Fujisaki designs the characters while Kimiyoshi Matsumura, and Daisuke Yoshida of the Japanese Institute of Anatolian Archaeology will handle historical supervision. Yoshihisa Hirano is composing the scores for the series, with Hirano Morishita as the sound director. 

What is Red River about?

“Red River” adapts Chie Shinohara's drama-supernatural shoujo manga “Sora wa Akai Kawa no Hotori”, which was published by Shogakukan in their Sho-Comi magazine from January 1995 to June 2002. The manga was published in 28 tankobon volumes, and was later licensed by Viz Media for an English release in 2004. 

The manga was also distributed in Vietnam, Germany, and Italy, and received a series of 8 drama CDs which released between 1997 and 2000. The series won the Shogakukan Manga Award for the shoujo category in 2001, and currently has over 20 million copies in circulation. 

Viz Media publishes the manga in English in North America, and describes the story as:

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.

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