NHK has revealed new details for Cocoon: From the Girls of One Summer (cocoon ~Aru Natsu no Shojo-tachi yori~), its upcoming anime adaptation based on Machiko Kyo’s World War II manga Cocoon. The anime will have an early broadcast in Japan in late March, with regular broadcast set to follow in August.
The anime is being produced as part of NHK’s programming to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. The first-look preview images have been released, along with the main staff and cast.
Cocoon Anime Cast and Staff
Unlike in its original announcement from June 2023, there is no mention of Studio Sasayuri, which was previously listed as handling the animation production. However, Hitomi Tateno, a former Studio Ghibli animator known for her work on movies like My Neighbor Totoro (1988) and When Marnie Was There (2014), is still credited as the animation producer.
You can see the newly-announced staff members and main voice cast for the Cocoon anime adaptation below:
- Hikari Mitsushima as Mayu
- Marika Ito as San
The anime will be directed by Yukimitsu Ina, with music composed by Kensuke Ushio (A Silent Voice, Chainsaw Man).
Cocoon Background and Manga
Cocoon was originally serialized in Akita Shoten’s Elegance Eve from May 2009 to July 2010, with all 15 chapters compiled into a single volume in August 2010. The manga was recognized in the 14th Japan Media Arts Festival’s Manga Division Jury Selections, praised for its powerful depiction of young girls caught in the horrors of war.
The story follows a group of teen girls attending an elite all-girls school in Okinawa during World War II. As the war escalates, they are forced to become battlefield nurses, facing the tragic reality of war.
Kyo Machiko’s Career and Legacy
Machiko Kyo began her career in 2004, publishing one-page comics online which were later compiled into Sennen Gaho (2008). Her 2013 manga Mitsuami no Kami-sama won the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize’s New Artist Prize and was adapted into the animated short movie Pigtails by Production I.G.
Kyo has talked of her dedication to creating stories that resonate with ordinary people, a theme seen across her works, including her COVID-19-related comics Distance My #stayhome Diary and Essential My #stayhome Diary 2021-2022. In an interview with The Comics Journal, Machiko said:
“I hope to continue making works that can be read not just for a year, but for ten, fifty, or even a hundred years… delivering something that speaks to the reader at any moment in time.”
The Cocoon anime is not the only anime releasing this year to commemorate the 80th anniversary of WWII. Peleliu: Guernica of Paradise, an upcoming anime movie depicting the Battle of Peleliu, is set to premiere in Japan in December 2025.
Source: NHK Official Website
© Machiko Kyo (Akita Shoten) / NHK NEP
The comments are temporarily unavailable for maintenance.