The World Is Dancing, Depicting Zeami's Youth, Gets Anime Adaptation! Yumiri Hanamori to Play Oniyasha, Broadcasting This Summer

Staff and Cast Comments

■Director Toshimasa Kuroyanagi

This is the story of a boy named Oniyasha who continues to challenge himself creatively during an era when what is now considered classical performing art called "Noh" was known as "Sarugaku" and was cutting-edge entertainment. He doesn't have talent superior to others, nor does he have medals to boast about. Yet, with the hope that he might become someone significant and perhaps change the world, he continues to challenge himself with Sarugaku day after day. That figure somehow feels connected to the "beginner's spirit" within ourselves, and the entire staff is working hard to create an anime that everyone can enjoy anew. Just as the "flower" that Oniyasha reached has continued for 600 years, I want to create this work carefully and with all my effort so that I can deliver a story that will be loved for a long time.

■Lead Actress Yumiri Hanamori

I believe that in this world, there are things that feel "good" for as many people as there are. No two scales are the same, and that's precisely why if you can encounter something in this world that you feel is "good," it will surely become a flower that colors and illuminates the path of that person's life. I cannot help but wish for that. In a world where rise and fall are constant, like waves that come and go. What shape and what color was the flower he made bloom? Why does it continue to bloom on so many people's paths even now? I hope it reaches you through this work.

■Character Designer Keigo Sasaki

After reading the original work, I thought, "Ah... I'd definitely regret it if I didn't participate in this..." It's such a charming work that I'm spending challenging days with other creators while being affected by Oniyasha's passion for his art, wondering how much we can express in the anime and what expression even is. I'll do my best to deliver something good.

■Title Calligrapher Satoshi Nemoto

"Fushikaden" (Style and Flower), written by Zeami, the master who perfected Noh. It is Japan's oldest treatise on Noh and acting that describes the movements of the body and heart, discussing style (appearance) as likened to a "flower." Zeami also wrote a book called "Kakyo" (Flower Mirror) in his later years, and the "flower" was something special to him. When I was asked to create the title lettering for "The World Is Dancing" in katakana calligraphy and thought about how to express it, I felt it was best to write with the theme of "flower." Katakana was born as a symbol for reading Chinese texts in Japanese, so it can be said to move between the worlds of letters and non-letters. That's why I took up the brush to be freed from the character nature and to shape Zeami's "flower," which became this title lettering. I would be happy if I could add even a small flower to this anime.

PV Scene Cuts

 (C)三原和人・講談社／『ワールド イズ ダンシング』製作委員会

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