VOTOMS: Die Graue Hexe names Mika Nakashima as theme singer
Sunrise has unveiled a new visual, teaser and Mika Nakashima theme song for Mamoru Oshii’s two-part VOTOMS film project.
Sunrise has unveiled a new visual and teaser for Armored Trooper VOTOMS: Die Graue Hexe (装甲騎兵ボトムズ 灰色の魔女), the first of Mamoru Oshii’s two new Armored Trooper VOTOMS films. The teaser also confirms “Na mo Naki Shijin no Yō ni” (“Like Some Nameless Poet”) as the first film’s theme song, performed by Mika Nakashima. 12
Toshihiko Takamizawa of THE ALFEE wrote, composed and arranged the song. The first film opens in Japanese cinemas on 20 November, while its second chapter still has no announced release date. 12
A new battlefield for VOTOMS
The new material returns to the franchise’s gritty real-robot warfare. Ash Vamps is a feared AT pilot known as the Grey Witch, while officer Maki Stauffenberg investigates Ash’s past. The visual places Ash in a Scopedog cockpit, and the latest trailer also shows the Balarant Army’s Fatty and Blocker armoured troopers. Sunrise is producing the project with Production I.G, with Bandai Namco Filmworks handling distribution. 123
Mamoru Oshii directs, with Ryōsuke Takahashi — director and original concept creator of the 1983 series — supervising. The cast includes Miyuki Sawashiro as Ash, Mabuki Andou as Maki, plus Shinichirō Miki, Yūki Kaji and Yūichi Nakamura. 2
The first film’s firm Japanese release date and the arrival of a full teaser give this revival a much clearer identity than a simple anniversary announcement. Its combination of Oshii’s war-focused direction, new characters and the franchise’s battered military machines should give longtime fans something specific to watch for, rather than asking them to rely on nostalgia alone.
Our opinion
The strongest part of this update is how much it tells us about the film’s tone. “Na mo Naki Shijin no Yō ni” adds a human, elegiac edge to a project otherwise built around armoured warfare and industrial machinery. The unanswered date for the second film is frustrating, but the first chapter now has a clear musical identity, a substantial trailer and a fixed Japanese cinema release — enough to make this one of the more intriguing legacy-anime revivals on the horizon.