by It has been decided that a TV anime will be produced based on the Japanese-style action RPG game “Tenho no Sakunahime,” which has shipped over 1.5 million copies worldwide. The production will be handled by PAWORKS, which has worked on famous masterpieces such as “SHIROBAKO” and “Hanasaku Iroha.” It is scheduled to be broadcast on the TV Tokyo network in 2024.
“Tenho no Sakunahime” is set on “Hinoe Island” and combines an exhilarating combo action battle against the demons that rule the island and simulation elements that deeply recreate the ancient Japanese rice cultivation process. Released in 2020 for Nintendo Switch/PS4 as an RPG work. Since then, 1.5 million bottles have been shipped worldwide, and it has become such a massive hit that it has been nicknamed the “Rice Riot of Reiwa.” It is known that PAWORKS will be in charge of animation production, and the cast has also been announced, with the casting being familiar from the original game.
It has been revealed that Naomi Ozora will play the role of the main character, Sakunahime, the fertility god, and Rika Kinugawa will play the role of Kokorowahime, Sakunahime’s best friend and a senior god who lives in the capital—regarding the anime adaptation, Edelweiss, the original creator, also received comments. We have also decided to exhibit at the anime event “AnimeJapan2024,” scheduled for March 23rd and 24th. On the day of the event, exhibitions of works and other events will be planned at the TOHO Animation booth.
Original work: Edelwaisu Comments from Mr. Naru and Mr. Koichi
Naru’s thoughts on the anime adaptation: I once fantasized about something I created becoming a TV anime. Oh my God! Really? Like yesterday, I remember Toho’s enthusiasm when explaining the project, which was incredible. It’s been over three years since then, and I’m pleased that the time has finally come to announce the work and that I can deliver it to everyone. Message for fans: Those who have played the game can probably imagine the difficulty of adapting this work into an anime.
The animation production team, including PAWORKS, worked carefully on this issue, and we were also involved in the scriptwriting, audio recording, and supervising more than we expected. We hope that everyone will enjoy the anime “Tenho no Sakunahime”! Koichi’s thoughts on the anime adaptation: it was a dream come true when the original work sold beyond my expectations, so when I was approached for this project, I felt like it was someone else’s problem.
After that, I became more involved in the original work as a supervisor than I expected, and little by little, I began to feel a sense of ownership and responsibility. Now that the broadcast is approaching, I’m getting more nervous…! ・To all the fans, games and anime are different media. Several things have changed from the original work in this adaptation, such as length limitations and differences in conveying information.
This may sound unsettling to some people, but this work took care of the original work. There are many pleasant surprises, such as places where the charm of the original has been expanded many times over and places lacking in depiction have been interpolated. We hope you enjoy watching Sakura and her friends move around energetically.
