Funimation has announced its production of the English dub of the series Higurashi: When They Cry – GOU, the newest addition to the Higuashi: When They Cry anime project. Funimation also revealed some of the voice actors for the English dub.
Two of the main cast members, Michelle Rojas and Apphia Yu, are heading the series as director and assistant director respectively. Jarrod Greene is also heading the job, localizing and writing the English script for the anime. Additionally, William Dewell is the series’ mix engineer, and James Baker and Xavier Earl are joining the anime as ADR engineers.
The cast (as of right now) includes the following:
- Khoi Dao as Kelichi Maebara
- Brittany Lauda as Sakoto Hojo
- Emi Lo as Rena Ryugu
- Michelle Rojas as Mion Sonozaki
- Apphia Yu as Rika Furude
The anime first premiered to domestic Japanese audiences on October 1, 2020, with Funimation streaming simulcast to international watchers. The anime was originally supposed to premiere in July of this year, but due to the coronavirus pandemic impacting the production schedule, the release date was pushed back. The series also released a manga adaptation on October 2, 2020 by Tomato Akase, available to readers in Kadokawa’s Young Ace Up website.
The first of the Higurashi: When They Cry anime first premiered to Japanese television audiences in 2006 for a 26-episode run. A sequel series, When they Cry II: Solutions, premiered the very next year with a 24-episode run. The folks at Funimation weren’t the only ones to release the series to global audiences, with Geneon Entertainment Inc. releasing the first series on DVD in 2007, two years before Funimation had their own release of the anime on home video. Sentai Filmworks recently released the two When They Cry series on DVD and Blu Ray in 2016.
Interestingly, the series’ “real” title wasn’t even revealed until the airing of the second episode of the season. The name Higuashi: When They Cry – GOU was only known to wider audiences after October 9, 2020. Funimation confirmed that the title in this episode was the true title of the series, adding further that this was something “the creators intentionally did not reveal to the world until episode two.”
The original content of the series was handled by Ryukishi07 and his group, 07th expansion.
Keiichiro Kawaguchi joins the series as director. The team at Passione is producing the series; they were also behind the animation production of Citrus, High School DxD Hero, and Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers. Akio Watanba is lead character designer, whose notable work includes character design on the Monogatari anime. Naoki Hayashi of Black Fox and Citrus leads the series’ composition for the anime, heading a notable team, including returning composer Kenji Kauai, who did work for Ghost in the Shell and Mobile Suit Gundam 00.
The opening theme to the series “I believe what you said” is performed by Asaka. The series ending theme is “God Syndrome” and is performed by Ayane.
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