Baku Yumemakura's Garoden novels receive anime adaptation on Netflix

On Monday, April 22, 2024, Netflix Japan streamed an English-subtitled promotional video to announce the anime adaptation of Baku Yumemakura's Garoden novels. According to the short clip, the anime, titled Garoden: The Way of the Lone Wolf, will premiere exclusively on Netflix in May 2024. Details regarding the anime's cast and staff were also revealed.

Baku Yumemakura's Garoden is a Japanese novel series revolving around the theme of martial arts. The first part, consisting of 13 novels, debuted in July 1985, and it was serialized till 2003. Following its success, a second part was released in 2006 and five volumes have been launched as of this writing.

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The anime adaptation of Baku Yumemakura's Garoden novels premieres on May 23, 2024

As mentioned earlier, Netflix Japan shared an English-subtitled trailer for the anime adaptation of Baku Yumemakura's Garoden novels on Monday, April 22, 2024.

Titled Garoden: The Way of the Lone Wolf, the martial arts-themed anime is all set to premiere on Netflix on May 23, 2024. Interestingly, the trailer showcases Juzo Fujimaki, the rival of the protagonist, Bunshichi Tanba, and gives the audience a glimpse of the intense combat scenes that will feature in the title.

The latest promotional clip captures the determination of Juzo, as his destiny compels him to participate in a fierce underground tournament centered on fighting. The PV shows him navigating through a beaten path full of formidable opponents.

The key visual for Garoden: The Way of the Lone Wolf (Image via Netflix)

He has a bounty of three million on his head and a detective who wants to find him. According to the PV, Juzo has to combat not only deadly opponents but also his inner demons in his quest.

Other than teasing the plot, the PV has also revealed the theme songs for this action anime. Takeshi Ueda's AA= performs the opening theme, FIGHT & PRIDE, and the ending theme, CRY BOY.

Juzo as seen in the trailer (Image via Netflix)

Aside from the trailer, the cast and staff for the anime adaptation of Baku Yumemakura's Garoden novels have been revealed as well. Ryota Takeuchi, renowned for voicing Wakatoshi from Haikyuu!!, stars as Juzo Fujimaki.

The star-studded cast includes Tetsu Inada, who plays the protagonist, Bunshichi Tanba, while Shunsuke Takeuchi voices Tsutomu Himekawa. Ryota Suzuki joins the cast as Ryoji Kubo, while Rintaro Nishi plays the role of Shozan Matsuo.

Aya Endo voices Saeko Izumi, while Hidenobu Kiuchi lends his voice to Fumihito Tamon. Tessho Genda stars as Soichiro Izumi, and Junya Enoki features as Tomoyuki Hikita. Yoshimasa Hosoya is also part of the anime's cast and brings Nyoze Carlos Nagato to life, while Junichi Suwabe, renowned for playing Sukuna from Jujutsu Kaisen, stars as Ichiro Shino.

Other voice actors for the series include Yuko Kaida as Miyuki Koiso, Shiro Saito as Ranbo, Maki Izawa as Gunso, Kenjiro Tsuda as Oleg Zaytsev, and Yume Miyamoto as Chisaki Shino.

Juzo prepared to participate in the tournament (Image via Netflix)

Atsushi Ikariya is at the helm at NAZ Studios, with Daisuke Mataga as the assistant director. Ikariya-san designs the characters for the Garoden: The Way of the Lone Wolf anime with Momoko Kawai, while Sadayuki Murai is listed as the scriptwriter. Takeshi Ueda is composing music for this series, with Kisuke Koizumi as the sound director.

The anime adaptation of Baku Yumemakura's Garoden novels has also decided to capture the real-life movements of martial artists from diverse backgrounds, such as karate, Jiu-Jitsu, sumo, wrestling, boxing, and more.

Juzo fights a grizzly bear, as seen in the trailer (Image via Netflix)

Eminent figures such as Koki, Takeru, Murilo Takeshi de Souza, Rei Tsuruya, Takeru Uchida, Shimon Kagiyama, Fubito Aizawa, and others have contributed to vividly capture the real-life action sequences, as per Netflix.

Based on Baku Yumemakura's novel series, the upcoming anime is highly anticipated by fans. It will follow Juzo Fujimaki, who is on the run after his past crimes. Interestingly, he is forced into joining an illegal underground fighting tournament, where he has to face top-level martial artists.

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