The wheelchair is only the beginning. Tank Chair is gearing up for its anime debut with a second main promotional video, a new cast member and plenty of firepower ahead of its 4 October premiere.
Bandai Namco Filmworks is a Japanese entertainment company owned by Bandai Namco Holdings, unveiled the second main promotional video for the anime adaptation of Manabu Yashiro’s Tank Chair manga on 17 September, while also revealing Megumi Ogata as the voice of Sensei.
Ogata’s Sensei is no ordinary mentor. Described as an absolute ruler with unfathomable menace and overwhelming power, the character is also the founder of the mysterious Academy, a secretive global organisation that trains children to become elite assassins.
Ogata will also appear at an advance screening of the anime at the popular movie theater of Japan- Ikebukuro Humax Cinemas, on 24 September.
Kōki Uchiyama voices Nagi Taira, with Minori Fujidera as Shizuka Taira. Gakuto Kajiwara voices Naozumi Kurosaka, Saori Hayami plays Touko Kurosaka, Yurina Amami voices Dr. Radio and Gen Sato plays Uzu.
The series follows Shizuka, who takes on some of the most dangerous assassin jobs around but she is not the one pulling the trigger. Her brother Nagi is the assassin in question, left in a coma after taking a bullet while protecting her.
Now confined to a wheelchair, Nagi needs something far more potent than conventional rehabilitation to wake up: killing intent. Shizuka sets out to put that theory to the test, sending the pair into a violent recovery journey packed with dangerous enemies and high-stakes battles.
Tadahiro Yoshihira, known for Knights of Sidonia: Love Woven in the Stars, and Hiroaki Ando, whose credits include Kaina of the Great Snow Sea and Ajin, are directing the anime and writing the scripts at Polygon Pictures. Yoshihira is also supervising the overall series scripts.
Yūki Moriyama (Blame!) is handling character design, while Masaru Yokoyama (Mashle: Magic and Muscles, Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans) is composing the music. Kazuma Teshigahara (Kaina of the Great Snow Sea) is serving as production designer.
On the music front, Japanese alternative metal and reggae-punk band Silence iz Mine (Sim) will perform the opening theme, Dalala, while musical artist Daoko will handle the ending theme, Sync.
The wider production team includes CG supervisor Kōsuke Kawamura, modelling supervisor Daiki Seo, environment supervisor Tsubasa Hirata, rigging supervisor Mai Kawano and look development supervisor Shinnosuke Takizawa.
Kazukatsu Izawa, Shō Okajima and Shogo Tezuka are layout and animation supervisors, with Iori Suetsugu serving as BG set-up supervisor. Yoshikatsu Matsumoto is the art director and Hironori Nochi the colour key artist. Taichi Sudou is overseeing effects, while Tatsuya Kuwahara handles motion graphics. Kaoru Tadokoro is supervising lighting and compositing, Hiroaki Sasa is editing and Masanori Tsuchiya is directing sound, with Hiromune Kurahashi handling sound effects.
The anime will premiere on Tokyo MX at 11 pm Japan Standard Time (JST) on 4 October, followed by a Japanese satellite television network BS11 at 12:30 am on 5 October. It will then air on CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) on 5 October and MBS (Mainichi Broadcasting System – Japan) on 6 October.
Kodansha USA Publishing the American publishing subsidiary of Kodansha, Japan’s largest publishing company has licensed the series, while Kodansha’s K Manga an official digital manga platform and app is publishing the manga.
Yashiro launched Tank Chair on Magazine Pocket, a popular Japanese digital manga platform and mobile app operated by Kodansha, in November 2022 before moving it to Monthly Shonen Sirius, is a Japanese monthly manga magazine published by Kodansha, in November 2024. Kodansha released the manga’s 10th compiled volume on 26 March.
With Sensei now entering the fray and the anime’s debut just weeks away, Tank Chair is ready to put the pedal to the metal. The only question is whether viewers can keep up.
