KILL BLUE Anime Casts Shunsuke Takeuchi as Juzo Ogami
The KILL BLUE anime has found its lead. Voice actor Shunsuke Takeuchi will play the adult version of the legendary hitman Jūzō Ōgami in the upcoming adaptation of Tadatoshi Fujimaki’s manga. Fujimaki is the creator behind Kuroko’s Basketball and ROBOT × LASERBEAM, and this series mixes high stakes action with a coming of age twist.
Takeuchi may be familiar to fans from titles such as The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls. Here he takes on a very unusual role, since Ōgami is a fearsome 39 year old assassin who suddenly finds himself in the body of a middle school student. The casting news arrived with a new visual of Ōgami in his prime, white haired, cigarette in hand, and gun at the ready.
The official synopsis sets up the premise nicely. Jūzō Ōgami is a hitman who has never failed a job, no matter how impossible. After taking down a powerful organization, he is stung by a mysterious wasp and passes out. When he comes to, the 39 year old killer has become a 13 year old boy.
Before he can make sense of it, his boss hands him a new assignment: in that small body, slip into a middle school undercover. What follows is an unexpected school life full of lively classmates, everyday chaos, and very real danger, all while he wonders whether he can ever change back and whether the assassins on his trail will catch up first.
Speaking about the part, Takeuchi described the fun challenge of voicing a character who has the mind of an adult but the body of a child.
My take: A deadly assassin stuck reliving middle school is a premise full of comedy and heart. Takeuchi sounds like a great pick, and I cannot wait to hear how he balances the two sides of Jūzō.
