Image: Final Weapon
Armored Trooper Votoms: Die Graue Hexe, the first part of a two-part theatrical anime directed by Mamoru Oshii, opens in Japanese theaters on November 20, 2026. In the past two weeks the production has revealed its theme song, a full cast list and a crossover visual with another November film.
What was announced
- Part 1 opens in Japan on November 20, 2026. No date has been given for Part 2.
- Oshii directs both films. Sunrise produces with assistance from Production I.G, Ryosuke Takahashi, who created Votoms, supervises, and Kenji Kawai composes the music.
- The Part 1 theme song, "Na mo Naki Shijin no Yo ni", is performed by Mika Nakashima and was written, composed and arranged by Toshihiko Takamizawa, the vocalist of THE ALFEE. It was revealed on October 23.
- Miyuki Sawashiro plays Ash Vamps and Mabuki Ando plays Maki Stauffenberg. Yuki Kaji, Yuichi Nakamura, Tomokazu Sugita, Daisuke Ono and Takahiro Sakurai are among the rest of the cast.
- On October 28 a joint visual was released with Expelled from Paradise: Resonance, which opens in Japan on November 13 and is directed by Seiji Mizushima from a script by Gen Urobuchi.
Background
Votoms began as a 1983 TV series about Chirico Cuvie, a special-forces pilot hunted by his own army, and it became one of the defining "real robot" shows: mass-produced Armored Troopers that are closer to infantry vehicles than to heroic super machines. Later OVAs and films filled in the story over the following decades. The announcements so far describe the new story only in general terms, so what Part 1 covers is still unclear.
What it means
A franchise that has spent years in OVA and side-story territory now gets a proper two-part theatrical run with Oshii, who is known for his work on Ghost in the Shell, in the director's chair. Pairing the release with Expelled from Paradise, a very different sci-fi property, looks like an effort to reach a wider adult sci-fi audience during one busy November. The fact that Part 2 has no date suggests Part 1 will have to stand on its own at the box office first. Western release plans have not been announced, so fans outside Japan should watch for licensing news.
On MyAnimeTime: Armored Trooper Votoms
Armored Trooper Votoms (1983, Sunrise, 52 episodes) is the original series that started the franchise. Watch Armored Trooper Votoms / episode guide.
