Shinichi Hatori:A guest voice actor will appear in the final episode of the TV anime "Akane-banashi" as the town's neighborhood association chairman.

It has been announced that freelance announcer Shinichi Hatori will be making a guest voice appearance in the TV anime "Akane-banashi," which is based on a manga about rakugo (traditional Japanese storytelling) currently serialized in "Weekly Shonen Jump" (Shueisha). Hatori will appear as the town's neighborhood association chairman in the 12th and final episode, which will air on June 20th.

Anna Nagase, who plays the main character Akane Sakurazaki, came to the recording session and offered advice as a voice actress. Hatori said, "I've done voice acting a few times before, but I was very nervous. And since it was the final episode, I felt I had to make it exciting, so I took on the challenge. It was very profound to act while keeping the character's actual movements in my head."

"Akane-banashi" is a rakugo (traditional Japanese storytelling) manga written by Hiroki Suenaga and illustrated by Takamasa Bajō, which began serialization in "Weekly Shonen Jump" in February 2022. It depicts the story of Akane Sakurazaki, a girl whose father is a rakugo performer, as she becomes a high school student and aims to become a master rakugo performer, overcoming various challenges along the way.

The anime is directed by Ayumu Watanabe and produced by ZEXCS. It airs every Saturday at 11:30 PM on TV Asahi's anime block "IMAnimation".