Inherit the Winds Adds Kappei Yamaguchi, Daisuke Hirakawa and Two More to Its Shinsengumi Cast

Inherit the Winds (Kaze wo Tsugu Mono), the original Shinsengumi anime from Aniplex, just added four more voices, and the lineup made me grin. The news broke on stage at the Kochi Manga Festival 2026 on October 31, with Koki Uchiyama (Hijikata Toshizo) and producer Shu Yamada on hand.

The four new cast members

• Daisuke Hirakawa as Niimi Nishiki, the right-hand man of commander Serizawa Kamo
• Toshiyuki Toyonaga as Kawai Kisaburo, the unit's accountant
• Kappei Yamaguchi as Momoyama Kyusai, the doctor who looks after the Mibu Roshigumi
• Toshiki Kumagai as Yoshida Toshimaro, a Choshu samurai on the other side of the conflict

Kappei Yamaguchi says he loves the Shinsengumi himself, and Toyonaga teases that his very real historical figure is played as an unusual character. I can't wait to find out what that means.

What I learned from the stage report

The official stage report is worth a read. Yamada says the project grew out of the pandemic, when he wanted to tell a story about ordinary days for young men with no promise of tomorrow. Most of the cast came through auditions, and the main roles drew around 300 applicants. He also confirmed that Live2D Creative Studio is making its first long-form anime here, together with Drive, and that animators call some of its movement impossible to copy by hand. That blend of Live2D and cel animation is the part I'm most curious to see.

A novel before the show

Writer Yutaka Narui, who founded the theater troupe Caramel Box and wrote its Shinsengumi stage play, is writing his own novelization. It comes out December 24 from Jitsugyo no Nihon Sha.

The theatrical preview, Kaze wo Tsugu Mono -Hajimari-, opens November 13 for two weeks, ahead of the TV run in January 2027. Music comes from Shigeru Kishida of Quruli, which only adds to my hype. You can find the cast news on the official site.