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The Cat and the Dragon Anime Reveals First Promo, July 4 Premiere, Three New Cast Members

The first PV and expanded cast confirm the series is on track for a summer premiere, giving fans of the popular light novel franchise their first look at how OLM is adapting the story's gentle fantasy tone.

Key Facts

  • The Cat and the Dragon anime premieres on July 4 at 9:00 p.m. JST on Tokyo MX, with subsequent broadcasts on BS NTV, Yomiuri TV, Nagasaki Culture Broadcasting, and AT-X.
  • Three new cast members join the series: Yu Serizawa as Haneko, Makoto Koichi as the prince, and Kazuya Ichijo as the king.
  • The first promotional video shows the dragon visiting a human town and requesting an audience with the king, along with Haneko teaching magic to a child.
  • The anime is directed by Jin-Koo Oh at OLM, with series composition by Mitsutaka Hirota, character designs by Rie Nishino and Chiaki Kurakazu, and music by Takahiro Obata.
  • The original web novel debuted on Shōsetsuka ni Narō in September 2013, and the series has sold over 1.4 million copies across its light novel and manga editions.

Reporting from 4 sources: Anime News Network, Comic Natalie, Denfaminicogamer, The Fandom Post.

The Cat and the Dragon Anime Reveals First Promo, July 4 Premiere, Three New Cast Members

The television anime adaptation of Amara's light novel series The Cat and the Dragon has announced its July 4 premiere date, along with a first promotional video and three additional cast members. The series will debut on Tokyo MX on July 4 at 9:00 p.m. JST, followed by broadcasts on BS NTV, Yomiuri TV, Nagasaki Culture Broadcasting, and AT-X throughout the following week. Streaming will be available on d Anime Store in Japan. The newly announced cast includes Yu Serizawa as Haneko, a well-behaved cat who assists a prince struggling with magic; Makoto Koichi as the kind-hearted prince; and Kazuya Ichijo as the king, who must negotiate with the dragon. The first PV shows the dragon visiting a human town and requesting an audience with the king, along with glimpses of Haneko teaching magic to a child. The anime is directed by Jin-Koo Oh at OLM, with series composition by Mitsutaka Hirota, character designs by Rie Nishino and Chiaki Kurakazu, and music by Takahiro Obata. The original web novel debuted on Shōsetsuka ni Narō in September 2013, and the series has sold over 1.4 million copies across its light novel and manga editions.

The first PV reveals the dragon in its dragon form visiting a human town and requesting an audience with the king. The video also shows Shirotae wanting to leave the forest and Haneko teaching magic to a human child, offering a look at the series' omnibus-style storytelling. The PV debuts the voices of the three new cast members for the first time.

Yu Serizawa, voicing Haneko, said the work has a "heartwarming atmosphere with striking words" and that her character is "a very well-behaved cat, a kind cat who looks after the first prince struggling with magic." She noted the cat speaks both cat language and human language. Makoto Koichi, playing the prince, described the series as a "gentle picture-book-like world" and said his character is "kind-hearted and intelligent, able to interact with cats, dragons, and humans without prejudice." Kazuya Ichijo, voicing the king, said he aimed for a character that is "not overly arrogant but somewhat approachable" in his role negotiating with the dragon.

The anime is directed by Jin-Koo Oh at OLM, with series composition by Mitsutaka Hirota, character designs by Rie Nishino and Chiaki Kurakazu, and music by Takahiro Obata. Noriyoshi Konuma is the sound director. The previously announced cast includes Takehito Koyasu as Nekoryu, Kikuko Inoue as Mama-nyan, Fuka Izumi as Shirotae, and Show Hayami as Kurobane, among others.

The original web novel debuted on Shōsetsuka ni Narō in September 2013 and achieved an unusual daily ranking first place for a short story. The series has sold over 1.4 million copies across its light novel and manga editions. A manga adaptation by Izumi Sasaki launched in September 2017, and the 13th compiled book volume ships on July 24.

Synthesized by Yomimono from the 4 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.

Cat and Dragon Yu Serizawa Makoto Koichi Kazuya Ichijo

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