BODY: Fans of Chie Shinohara's time-slipping fantasy epic have fresh reason to tune in this fall. The official website for the Sora wa Akai Kawa no Hotori (Red River) television anime announced two additional cast members on Monday, timed to the series' upcoming second cour.
Voice actor Souma Saitou, known for his work in Shuumatsu no Walküre (Record of Ragnarok), joins as User Ramses. He is accompanied by Shun Horie, recently heard in Yuusha-kei ni Shosu, who takes on the role of Juda Haspaslupi. The pair round out a growing ensemble as the story pushes deeper into its ancient Hittite intrigue.
The currently airing adaptation brings Shinohara's long-running shoujo manga to the screen, following ordinary Japanese schoolgirl Yuri after she is pulled back in time to the Hittite Empire, where she becomes entangled in palace politics, war, and romance. The manga is a genuine classic of the genre, having earned the Shogakukan Manga Award during its original run.
The second cour is scheduled to begin September 29 at 1:35 a.m. on NTV's AnichU programming block, with a broadcast on BS-NTV to follow. The late-night slot places it squarely in the company of other seasonal anime targeting dedicated fans rather than casual daytime viewers.
The insider take
From Tokyo, the timing here is telling. Red River is a nostalgia play as much as a new adaptation — the manga wrapped its serialization in the early 2000s, and a large slice of its fanbase are now women in their 30s and 40s who grew up with it. Anchoring the second cour in NTV's late-night AnichU block signals that the network is courting that loyal, purchase-ready audience rather than chasing broad reach. Casting recognizable talent like Saitou and Horie is a smart move to generate buzz on Japanese social media, where seasonal cast reveals reliably trend among the industry's most engaged followers.
Originally reported by News - MyAnimeList (English).