Witch on the Holy Night Anime Film Reveals Staff

The anime film adaptation of TYPE-MOON's visual novel Witch on the Holy Night is scheduled to open in Japanese theaters on November 20. The film, titled Mahoutsukai no Yoru, adapts the cult visual novel originally launched for Windows in Japan in April 2012 and written by Kinoko Nasu.

Key creative staff and animation production details revealed

The film is directed by Masashi Takeuchi with Hikaru Kondou serving as chief director. Animation production is handled by ufotable, which is also responsible for the script. The core staff includes many veterans of previous ufotable projects like the Fate/stay night films and Demon Slayer.

Character design is led by Moe Tsuzuki, with sub-character design by Kana Ishigo and chief animation director Masato Nagamori. The production team brings together significant experience from major anime franchises.

Additional key staff include prop designer Masato Saito, 3D director Gochu Sato, and composer Hideyuki Fukasawa. The original character design was by Hirokazu Koyama, with original character concepts by Takashi Takeuchi.

Theme song and musical contributions by supercell and Yanagi Nagi

The film's theme song, 'Yoru to Ao', will be performed by the Japanese pop band supercell with vocals by Yanagi Nagi. This marks Yanagi Nagi's return as vocalist on a new supercell song after approximately 15 years. The band previously performed 'Hoshi ga Matataku Konna Yoru ni', the ending song for the original visual novel.

Yanagi Nagi expressed surprise and delight at singing a new song as part of supercell again. Band member Ryo suggested the opportunity for this film revived the group, which might otherwise have remained dormant.

Cast, characters, and story overview announced

The main cast features Haruka Tomatsu as the protagonist Aoko Aozaki, Kana Hanazawa as Alice Kuonji, and Yūsuke Kobayashi as Soujyurou Sizuki. The story follows Aoko Aozaki, an ordinary high school girl who is secretly a Magician's apprentice. She lives with her housemate Alice Kuonji while striving to become a full-fledged Magician. The film serves as a prequel to Shingetsutan Tsukihime within the broader Nasuverse. Distribution is handled by TOHO and Aniplex.

Final trailer released and fan reaction highlighted

A final trailer, a little over 90 seconds long, was revealed during a special Wednesday livestream presentation. It previewed scenes featuring the three main characters and was accompanied by a new visual drawn by Hirokazu Koyama. The trailer's release has generated significant excitement among fans anticipating the theatrical release.

One fan, Astrefia, said, "I’m so excited to see this movie when it comes out; it’s going to be awesome." Other comments acknowledged the challenge of adapting the visual novel into a single film while expressing trust in ufotable's production, with one calling it the most anticipated release of the year. The film is set for a worldwide release in December 2023, following the game's enhanced remaster on consoles and PC.