It has been announced that Kinema Citrus' 15th anniversary original TV anime "Goodbye Lala" will begin airing in July. The series is based on the story of the Little Mermaid, who is resurrected in Lake Biwa 200 years later. The main promotional video, depicting the encounter between the resurrected mermaid princess Lala and high school boxer Otsu Mari, has been released on YouTube.
It was also announced that additional cast members will include Fukami Rika as the heretic witch Grace and Ayumu Murase as the boy Luca. Fukami commented, "The characters and the setting of the story are both lovingly and carefully drawn. The illustrations are simply beautiful and cute! Grace also has her own upbringing and various life experiences to deal with, but she was a character that I could really get into while playing. The recording was a lively and fun mix of newcomers and veterans, and I'm really looking forward to seeing that energy reach everyone."
Murase said, "It was heartwarming to watch the two main characters working hard at the dubbing studio and the way the relationship between Lala and Mari deepens with each episode. There were many people on set who had ties to Shiga, so it was also fun to hear their stories about Shiga. It will be a while before Luka appears, but I hope you will look forward to seeing what kind of character he will be!"
It has been announced that Murase will be appearing at the "Goodbye Lala" Anime Japan Special Stage, which will be held at the KADOKAWA booth at "AnimeJapan 2026" to be held at Tokyo Big Sight (Koto Ward, Tokyo), alongside Hana Hishikawa, who voices Lala, Nana Kawaishi, who voices Mari Otsu, and director Takashi Koide. The stage will begin at 3:20 PM on March 28th.
The anime is directed by Takashi Koide, a Shiga native who is making his directorial debut, with series composition by Anna Kawahara, character design by Shiori Tani, and music by Yuma Yamaguchi.
