SEKIRO: NO DEFEAT Releases Divine Heir Character PV and Rice Day Visual
The release ties the Divine Heir's rice-producing power to a real-world Rice Day promotion, blending the film's lore with a giveaway campaign that encourages fan engagement on social media ahead of the September 4 premiere.
Key Facts
- SEKIRO: NO DEFEAT releases a character PV and scene cuts for the Divine Heir, voiced by Risa Shimizu, on August 18.
- The Divine Heir's rice-themed visual depicts the character holding rice in both hands while wrapped in white light.
- The background art is created by art director Yuji Kaneko of Studio Blueprints, using hand-painted analog techniques.
- The film is directed by Kenichi Kutsuna and produced by Qzil.la, with animation production and promotion by KADOKAWA and ARCH.
- SEKIRO: NO DEFEAT will be screened nationwide for a limited three-week run starting September 4.
Reporting from 3 sources: Denfaminicogamer, Game Spark, Anime Anime.
The theatrical anime SEKIRO: NO DEFEAT, based on FromSoftware's action game SEKIRO: SHADOWS DIE TWICE, released a character PV and new scene cuts for the Divine Heir on August 18, which is Rice Day in Japan. The Divine Heir, voiced by Risa Shimizu, is a character with the power to produce rice and holds the key to severing the Dragon's Heritage. The new visual depicts the Divine Heir holding rice in both hands while wrapped in white light. The scene cuts showcase the film's fully hand-drawn 2D background art, created by art director Yuji Kaneko of Studio Blueprints, who painted each piece on paper with brush and paint. The backgrounds include Ashina Castle against snowy mountains, Wolf and Kuro in a pampas grass plain, and Wolf facing Genichiro in the castle's great hall. The film is directed by Kenichi Kutsuna, with animation production by Qzil.la, and will be screened nationwide for a limited three-week run starting September 4. A giveaway campaign on X offers special packaged glossy rice to winners who quote-repost with the hashtag '#お米は大事' (Rice is Important) by August 25.
The Divine Heir's character PV and scene cuts were released alongside a rice-themed visual, timed to August 18's Rice Day. The character, who can produce rice and holds the key to severing the Dragon's Heritage, is voiced by Risa Shimizu, reprising her role from the original game. The new visuals include the Divine Heir holding rice in both hands, wrapped in white light, and scene cuts showing a strong gaze and a wistful expression.
The background art, handled by Studio Blueprints under art director Yuji Kaneko, is entirely hand-drawn 2D, with Kaneko painting each piece on paper. He noted that in analog paint there is no true black, so he mixed colors to achieve a 'cinematic black' and intentionally left brush touches visible at the director's request. The scene cuts depict Ashina Castle against snowy mountains, Wolf and Kuro in a pampas grass plain, and Wolf facing Genichiro in the great hall.
The film, directed by Kenichi Kutsuna in his feature-length directorial debut, is produced by Qzil.la with production and promotion by KADOKAWA and ARCH. The cast includes Daisuke Namikawa as Wolf, Miyuki Sato as Kuro, and Kenjiro Tsuda as Ashina Genichiro. The theme song is 'Blu' by Ryuichi Sakamoto. The film opens nationwide for a limited three-week run starting September 4.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 3 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.