Five Voice Acting Veterans Join the Fray
Dara-san of Reiwa has locked in five new cast members alongside its second main trailer, and the lineup brings serious name recognition to this summer's horror comedy.
Aoi Koga (Kaguya Shinomiya in Kaguya-sama: Love Is War) plays Shū Hatsusegawa (初瀬川周), a second-year middle school girl who transferred into protagonist Hinata's class. Shū has an unusual backstory: she collapsed suddenly during the summer she turned 12, underwent rapid physical growth, and only recently regained consciousness. Tomokazu Sugita (Gintoki in Gintama) takes on the role of Naomichi Fudeki (筆木直道), the homeroom teacher for Hinata's younger brother Kaoru.
Mai Aizawa voices Miwa Irako (五十子美和), a freelance designer who also does self-published fan work. Saori Hayami plays the Elder Shrine Maiden (姉巫女), who once joined her younger sister in slaying a serpent called Yamatagimadara and severing its head. Hōchū Ōtsuka rounds out the new additions as Orochi (おろち), a monster spirit sealed with its head and body separated.
The second trailer previews all five characters with voice acting for the first time. Most of the footage is comedic, showing the siblings' chaotic daily life with Dara-san, but the closing moments shift tone with an ominous sequence involving the Elder Shrine Maiden and Orochi.
In their official comments, the cast expressed enthusiasm for the source material. Sugita described stumbling across Dara-san on social media, locking eyes with the character, and being unable to look away. Hayami highlighted the series' sharp divide between its warm, funny half and its dark supernatural side, noting she had to switch gears completely during recording sessions.
A Half-Snake Deity Crashes With Two Siblings
Dara-san of Reiwa is based on the horror comedy manga by Tomotsuka Haruomi (ともつか治臣), currently serialized on Kadokawa's KadoComi web manga platform and Niconico Manga. The manga's eighth collected volume releases June 23, 2026.
The story follows siblings Hinata (CV: Minami Tsuda) and Kaoru Misokitani (CV: Momoka Terasawa), who live in a remote mountain village. One day they wander into forbidden sacred ground and meet a half-human, half-snake being called Yamatagimadara (屋跨斑), worshipped locally as the land deity. The creature turns out to be gentle and surprisingly rational, so the siblings nickname it "Dara-san" and the three settle into a noisy, comedic coexistence. The series balances that lighthearted premise against a darker supernatural thread involving sealed spirits and ancient shrine maiden battles.
The anime is produced at Asahi Production and directed by Tadato Suzuki, with character designs by Kōichi Kikuta.
Looking Ahead
Dara-san of Reiwa premieres July 2, 2026, at 10:30 PM on TOKYO MX, 11:00 PM on BS NTV, and 1:45 AM on Kansai TV. Anime specialty channel AT-X airs the show the same day at 9:30 PM in its own "Is This OK in the Reiwa Era?!" version. Digital streaming is available on Japanese platform d Anime Store and additional services.
The ending theme "Hinatabokko" is performed by the two-member unit REIRIE. No opening theme artist has been announced yet.
No international streaming partner has been confirmed at this time. Whether Crunchyroll, Netflix, or another platform picks up the series for Western audiences is still an open question.