An anime adaptation of the comedy fantasy manga Akuyaku Reijo Tensei Ojisan was announced back in January, and today we got a new Akuyaku Reijo Tensei Ojisan key visual, a teaser trailer and an announcement of the two voice actors playing the main character alongside the main staff.
The Akuyaku Reijo Tensei Ojisan trailer shows middle-aged protagonist Kenzaburou Tondabayashi saving a young boy, but meeting an untimely end as a result.
But not an end in the usual sense, as he soon finds himself reincarnated into the otome game his daughter plays as villainess Grace Auvergne.
Quite a difference from being a kind 52-year-old civil servant with a comb-over to ending up inhabiting the body of a blonde ringlet-bedecked student who is too snobby for her own good.
The just released Akuyaku Reijo Tensei Ojisan visual shows Kenzaburou and Grace dancing together.
Akuyaku Reijo Tensei Ojisan voice cast and main staff
As for the voice cast in the upcoming isekai anime, veteran actor Kazuhiko Inoue (Madara in Natsume’s Book of Friends) is playing Kenzaburou Tondabayashi, while his alter-ego Grace Auvergne is being voiced by M.A.O. (Livia in A Salad Bowl of Eccentrics).
The anime series is being directed by Tetsuya Takeuchi (Yuri Seijin Naoko-san), with Shingo Irie (Love All Play) in charge of series composition, and Haruka Matsunae (Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 3) designing the characters.
Aija-do Animation Works (A Sign of Affection) is in charge of anime production.
The manga the anime is based on has been published since March, 2020 and currently has six volumes out, with its latest releasing in January, 2024.
An English translation has not yet been licensed, although that may change once the Akuyaku Reijo Tensei Ojisan anime premieres.
The My Anime List website describes the plot in this manner:
In his previous life in modern-day Japan, he was Kenzaburou Tondabayashi, a 52-year-old civil servant—and now he’s the villainess! Reborn as Grace Auvergne, the drill-haired villainess of an otome game his daughter used to play, Kenzaburou is quite confused.
From the little information he possesses, Kenzaburou knows he should be a haughty noble girl, but the disciplined older man is simply unable to act in such a manner. His calm and kind aura leads him to befriend the heroine and further endear him to the student body as the pinnacle of elegance.
As he tries to keep the story on track, Kenzaburou will have to draw on his years of experience in the workforce, his perfect Japanese manners, and his family-oriented morals to fit in with the fellow kids.
Watch the new Akuyaku Reijo Tensei Ojisan trailer below. The anime itself is due to premiere in January, 2025.
More info: Official Akuyaku Reijo Tensei Ojisan website