Chikahiro Kobayashi Joins The Ghost in the Shell as Lee
Science SARU's series airs on Kansai TV and Fuji TV and streams exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and regions.
Bandai Namco Filmworks announced that Chikahiro Kobayashi voiced Lee in The Ghost in the Shell's eighth episode. The staff also released an end card illustrated by Shingo Natsume.
Bandai Namco Filmworks revealed Thursday that Chikahiro Kobayashi joined Science SARU's television anime The Ghost in the Shell (Kōkaku Kidōtai THE GHOST IN THE SHELL). He voiced Lee in episode eight, which aired Tuesday.
The staff also released the episode's end card, drawn by animator and director Shingo Natsume (One Punch Man).
The series debuted on television July 7 through “Ka-Anival!!,” the new anime block on Kansai TV and Fuji TV. The block airs Tuesdays at 11:00 p.m. (10:00 a.m. EDT).
Amazon Prime Video Japan began streaming the anime July 7 at 11:30 p.m. JST (10:30 a.m. EDT), immediately after its television broadcast.
Prime Video also exclusively streams the series simultaneously across more than 240 countries and regions. Mainland China, Russia, and Vietnam are excluded.
The first two episodes made their global debut at June's Annecy International Animation Film Festival. They also screened at Anime Expo on July 4.
An Anime Expo panel followed the screening, featuring director Mokochan, character designer and animation director Shūhei Handa, and other producers.
The cast also features:
- Maaya Sakamoto as Motoko Kusanagi
- Kazuhiro Yamaji as Daisuke Aramaki
- Hiroki Yasumoto as Batou
- Yūichi Nakamura as Togusa
- Kōsuke Gotō as Ishikawa
- Tōru Nara as Saito
- Marie Ōi as Operator
- Tomoko Kaneda as Fuchikoma
- Chafūrin as Minister of Home Affairs
- Naomi Kusumi as Volgarena Representative
- Hiroshi Yanaka as Vice Minister Ito
- Tomoko Miyadera as Union Leader
- Atsushi Miyauchi as Borma
- Kenichi Ogata as Col. Tonoda
- Masashi Ebara as Hanka Precision Instruments President
- Aya Hisakawa as Annapuma
- Niina Kumagaya as Unipuma
The principal creative staff includes:
- Mokochan, making his directorial debut at Science SARU, previously worked as a storyboarder and key animator on DAN DA DAN, The Heike Story, and Tatami Time Machine Blues.
- Toh Enjoe writes and supervises the series scripts. His credits include The Empire of Corpses novel and scripts for Space Dandy and Godzilla Singular Point.
- Shūhei Handa designs the characters and serves as chief animation director. His credits include the Little Witch Academia television series, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, and Spriggan (ONA).
- Taisei Iwasaki (BELLE) directs the music and co-composes it with Ryō Konishi (Journal with Witch theme song) and Yuki Kanesaka (Dr. Stone).
Other staff members are:
- Art director: Emi Katanosaka
- Art supervision: Osamu Masuyama
- Color key artist: Satoshi Hashimoto
- Compositing director of photography: Hikari Itō
- Editor: Kiyoshi Hirose
- Sound director: Yuji Tange
- Sound effects: Shota Yaso
- Recording: Yasuaki Ōta
- Music production: Flying Dog
King Gnu performs “Go Ghost,” the opening theme. MILLENNIUM PARADE feat. Saya Gray, Daniel Caesar perform the ending theme, “Blue.”
The production committee consists of:
- Bandai Namco Filmworks
- Kodansha
- Science SARU
- Production I.G
Bandai Namco Filmworks first announced the series in May 2024. Atsuko Tanaka, who voiced Motoko Kusanagi in the franchise, died in August 2024 at age 61.
Sources: Press release via ANN
