by The highly anticipated Shin Kochikame anime has officially revealed its new voice cast, giving fans their first chance to hear the characters in the upcoming 2027 series.
The new anime, officially titled Shin Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Koen-mae Hashutsujo, will bring Osamu Akimoto’s legendary Kochikame manga back to television in 2027. The series will air on Fuji TV and will also be available through various streaming platforms. An exact premiere date has not yet been announced.
The major announcement arrived on September 5, 2026, when the production team unveiled the new main cast, staff members, a new key visual, and a character promotional video featuring the characters’ voices for the first time.
Leading the new cast is Fukushi Ochiai, who will voice the legendary police officer Kankichi Ryotsu, better known to fans as Ryo-san. His casting has already generated strong reactions from fans, particularly because Ryotsu is one of the most recognizable characters in Japanese comedy manga and anime.
Fukushi Ochiai Takes Over as Kankichi Ryotsu
The biggest news surrounding the new Kochikame anime is the casting of Fukushi Ochiai as Kankichi Ryotsu.
Ryotsu is the central character of Kochikame, an unconventional police officer who loves money, gambling, inventions, business schemes, and anything that promises quick profits. Despite constantly causing trouble for the people around him, he is also energetic, surprisingly resilient, and capable of showing a warm and caring side.
For Ochiai, the role has special personal meaning.
The voice actor revealed that Kochikame was the first manga he bought as a child, and he also loved watching the anime. When he learned that he had passed the audition, he said he was overwhelmed with happiness at being able to “breathe” inside the world of Kochikame.
That personal connection has made his casting particularly interesting to fans. Rather than simply approaching Ryotsu as another role, Ochiai has a long history with the franchise as a viewer and reader.
He has also spoken about the challenge of playing such a famous character. Ryotsu has an instantly recognizable personality and comedic rhythm, so the new performance will need to feel fresh while preserving the spirit that made the character so popular.
New Main Cast for Shin Kochikame
The new anime has completely refreshed the main cast of the Kameari Park Police Station.
The four newly announced principal voice actors are:
- Fukushi Ochiai as Kankichi Ryotsu
- Shota Aoi as Keiichi Nakagawa
- M・A・O as Reiko Akimoto
- Yorimitsu Sakamoto as Daijiro Ohara
These four characters form the core of the police station and are among the most familiar faces in the Kochikame franchise.
The new casting represents a fresh interpretation of the characters for the Reiwa era of Japan.
Shota Aoi as Keiichi Nakagawa
Shota Aoi will voice Keiichi Nakagawa, the handsome and wealthy police officer who often finds himself dragged into Ryotsu’s chaotic schemes.
Nakagawa is the heir to the enormous Nakagawa financial group and is almost the opposite of Ryotsu in personality. He is polished, talented, intelligent, and generally composed.
However, despite being an elite police officer, Nakagawa has developed a close relationship with Ryotsu and often treats him as a respected senior colleague despite the endless trouble Ryotsu causes.
Aoi said he hopes viewers will look forward to seeing how the series brings its distinctive comedy into the modern era.
Fans have already reacted positively to his casting, with some commenting that Aoi’s voice feels particularly well suited to Nakagawa.
M・A・O as Reiko Akimoto
M・A・O will take on the role of Reiko Akimoto, one of the most recognizable female characters in Kochikame.
Reiko is beautiful, wealthy, intelligent, and confident. Unlike many people around Ryotsu, she is not easily intimidated by him and can firmly stand up to his schemes.
The official character description also emphasizes her kindness and ability to look after the people around her, while her strong personality makes her one of the most popular members of the police station.
M・A・O expressed her excitement about joining the new series and said viewers can look forward to enjoying the series’ large-scale slapstick comedy.
Yorimitsu Sakamoto as Daijiro Ohara
Yorimitsu Sakamoto will voice Daijiro Ohara, the strict and responsible police supervisor who is constantly forced to deal with Ryotsu’s latest disaster.
Ohara represents the more serious side of the Kameari police station. He is responsible, disciplined, and somewhat old-fashioned, which naturally puts him at odds with Ryotsu’s reckless behavior.
For Sakamoto, taking on the character comes with considerable pressure. However, he explained that he plans to rely on the natural energy and live feeling created when recording together with the rest of the cast.
His casting has also attracted attention online, with fans expressing curiosity about how his performance will shape the relationship between Ohara and the new Ryotsu.
New Character PV Finally Reveals Their Voices
Along with the cast announcement, the production team released a new character promotional video.
The PV provides the first official preview of the new voices of Ryotsu, Nakagawa, Reiko, and Ohara, giving fans a better idea of how the characters will sound in the 2027 anime.
A new key visual featuring the familiar police station characters was also released.
For longtime Kochikame fans, the visual is significant because it shows the classic characters returning in a modernized animation style while maintaining their recognizable personalities and appearances.
The official website describes the new project as “new and nostalgic”, emphasizing that the anime will update the visual presentation while retaining the familiar spirit of Kochikame.
A New Kochikame for the Reiwa Era
The new anime project was originally launched in 2025 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Osamu Akimoto’s manga.
The manga began serialization in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1976 and continued for an extraordinary 40 years before concluding its regular run in 2016. Over that time, Kochikame became one of the most recognizable comedy manga in Japan.
The basic premise is simple: Kankichi Ryotsu is a police officer working at the Kameari Park Police Station in Tokyo’s Katsushika Ward. He is extremely energetic, loves making money, and has a seemingly endless supply of schemes.
Those schemes frequently cause chaos for his colleagues and the people around him.
However, Kochikame is not only about jokes. The series is also known for its human warmth, everyday situations, and ability to reflect different periods of Japanese society.
That combination of comedy and human drama is one reason the franchise has remained popular for decades.
The Original Kochikame Anime Was a Major Hit
For viewers discovering the franchise through the 2027 anime, it is worth remembering just how important the previous television adaptation was.
The original Kochikame TV anime aired on Fuji TV from 1996 to 2004, becoming a long-running part of Japanese television culture.
The new series therefore represents a major return for the franchise.
Fuji TV has described the new anime as the return of Ryotsu and the police station members after a long absence, with the 2027 project intended to bring their energetic comedy back to audiences in the Reiwa era.
For longtime viewers, this is not simply another anime adaptation. It is the return of characters many fans grew up watching.
Akitaro Daichi Directs the New Anime
The new Kochikame anime will be directed by Akitaro Daichi, a veteran anime director known for works including Ojarumaru and Gag Manga Biyori.
Daichi has expressed confidence in the project and pointed out that Kochikame still contains plenty of jokes with a strong Showa-era flavor.
Rather than removing that older comedic style completely, the production team intends to use it as part of the show’s identity while presenting the series in a way that fits modern audiences.
Daichi also said the staff are enjoying the production process and expressed hope that the returning anime will once again energize audiences in Japan and beyond.
Original creator Osamu Akimoto has also shared his thoughts on the new project.
Akimoto praised the updated visual style, noting that the artwork has evolved in a more modern direction while still retaining the strong visual impact and entertainment value associated with Kochikame.
He also expressed excitement after hearing the voices of Ryotsu, Nakagawa, Reiko, and Ohara.
According to Akimoto, hearing the new voices made him feel that the lively police station members had returned once again. He is looking forward to seeing what kinds of incidents the new series will bring.
His comments are particularly meaningful because the new anime is being created more than a decade after the original TV series ended.
Fans Are Already Talking About Ryotsu
The new casting announcement has generated considerable discussion among Kochikame fans.
Some social media reactions have praised the casting of Shota Aoi as Nakagawa, while others have highlighted M・A・O’s casting as Reiko and expressed excitement about Yorimitsu Sakamoto playing Ohara.
However, the strongest attention has naturally been focused on Fukushi Ochiai as Ryotsu.
Fans are particularly interested in seeing how Ochiai handles Ryotsu’s loud personality, fast comedic timing, emotional moments, and endless schemes.
Comments reacting to the announcement have included sentiments such as “We have high expectations for Ryotsu’s rampage” and excitement about seeing the character cause trouble again.
These reactions are fan responses rather than official assessments, but they demonstrate how much curiosity surrounds the new voice cast.
What Makes Ryotsu Such an Important Character?
For newcomers, Ryotsu may initially look like a simple comedy character, but he is much more than that.
His defining traits are his love of money and his incredible confidence in his own ideas. Whenever he sees an opportunity to make a profit, he is usually willing to take a huge risk.
Unfortunately for Ryotsu, his plans frequently go wrong.
He may start a business, invent something, enter a competition, or create a new money-making scheme. What begins as a simple idea often grows into a huge disaster involving his colleagues, friends, and sometimes the entire neighborhood.
That endless cycle is one of the foundations of Kochikame comedy.
At the same time, Ryotsu has an enormous amount of energy and a surprisingly strong survival instinct. These qualities allow him to bounce back from situations that would completely defeat most people.
When Will Shin Kochikame Premiere?
The new Shin Kochikame anime is scheduled to premiere in 2027 on Fuji TV, with streaming planned across various platforms.
However, the production team has not yet announced the exact premiere date, month, episode count, or detailed streaming schedule.
More information is expected to be announced in future updates.
This means fans currently know who will play the main characters and who is working behind the scenes, but they will need to wait for additional announcements for the precise broadcast schedule.
September 5 Cast Announcement Event
The new cast was officially unveiled during the event “Anime ‘Shin Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Koen-mae Hashutsujo’ New Cast Announcement Event Starting! Reiwa Kochikame Grand Operation”, held on September 5, 2026.
The event introduced the new voice actors and production team while also presenting the first character PV and key visual.
An archive of the announcement event is available through the Jump Channel on YouTube, allowing fans who missed the original presentation to catch up with the news.
What to Expect From Shin Kochikame
The new series is expected to preserve the basic spirit that made Kochikame successful while updating its presentation for a modern audience.
That means viewers can expect:
- Ryotsu’s money-making schemes
- Police station comedy
- Nakagawa’s calm personality contrasting with Ryotsu
- Reiko’s strong and confident personality
- Ohara’s constant frustration with Ryotsu
- Fast-paced slapstick comedy
- Everyday stories set around Kameari
- Modernized animation and character designs
- A mixture of humor and warm human stories
For longtime fans, the biggest attraction will be seeing these familiar characters together again.
For newcomers, the straightforward comedy means the new anime should be relatively easy to understand without knowing every detail of the original manga.
The Shin Kochikame 2027 anime has taken a major step forward with the announcement of its new voice cast and production staff.
Fukushi Ochiai’s casting as Kankichi Ryotsu is especially notable because of his personal connection to Kochikame. Having grown up reading and watching the franchise, Ochiai now has the opportunity to bring one of Japan’s most famous comedy characters to a new generation.
Alongside him, Shota Aoi, M・A・O, and Yorimitsu Sakamoto will give new voices to Nakagawa, Reiko, and Ohara, creating a completely new dynamic for the familiar Kameari police station.
With Akitaro Daichi directing, Gallop handling animation production, and original creator Osamu Akimoto expressing his enthusiasm for the project, expectations are already building.
Most importantly, the new anime does not appear to be abandoning the identity of Kochikame. Instead, it aims to combine its classic slapstick comedy and memorable characters with a more modern visual presentation.
The exact 2027 premiere date has yet to be revealed, but the first character PV has already given fans a taste of the new voices. Now, the big question is simple: how much trouble will Ryo-san cause when Shin Kochikame finally returns?
