"Acting You'd Never Guess From His Looks"
The voice cast was revealed at a media preview held at Ghibli Park on July 7, according to Japanese entertainment news outlet Oricon News. SixTONES member Jesse plays Shinjin-kun (新人くん, literally "the new kid"), the short's rookie protagonist, and both directors sounded genuinely surprised by what he delivered in the booth.
Director Goro Miyazaki said Jesse has "an ad-lib ability you would never imagine from his looks," adding that Jesse's acting impressed him. Co-director Akihiko Yamashita admitted he initially worried whether such a good-looking performer could pull off the character, a classic sanmaime, the goofy comic-relief type in Japanese casting shorthand. He needn't have worried: Yamashita said Jesse played the part with real humor.
A Sing 2 Duo Reunites in the Valley of Witches
Singer-songwriter Aina the End, formerly of the group BiSH, voices Kikue-san, the protagonist's senior. Yamashita said she fits the character in a way that feels different from her singing, and called both castings "a great success."
The pairing is a reunion. Jesse and Aina the End made their voice-acting debuts together in the Japanese dub of Sing 2 back in 2022, so Ghibli is tapping a duo with proven booth chemistry rather than complete newcomers. Still, this is the first time either has appeared in a Studio Ghibli production.
The story is set in the Valley of Witches, a real area inside Ghibli Park. Shinjin-kun is a newcomer working in the valley who keeps running into odd jobs and stranger incidents, from building repairs to unexplained fires, until Kikue drops the line "I'm a witch" and a strange night begins.
Ghibli's First Short Made for the Park, Not the Museum
Studio Ghibli has a long tradition of exclusive short films, but until now they were made for the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Tokyo. Majo no Tani no Yoru (literally, "Night in the Valley of Witches") is the studio's first original short produced specifically for Ghibli Park in Nagakute, Aichi Prefecture, and it plays in the Orion-za screening room inside Ghibli's Grand Warehouse, per the official announcement.
Screenings started July 8, 2026, with an opening-day special screening and stage greeting where Miyazaki and Yamashita discussed the production. Entry was by advance application, capped at the first 150 attendees.
Looking Ahead
Here is the catch for international fans: this is a park exclusive. Watching Majo no Tani no Yoru requires a Ghibli Park ticket that includes Grand Warehouse admission, and no streaming release, home video edition, or overseas screening has been announced. That matches how Ghibli treats its museum shorts, which have stayed venue-exclusive for over two decades, so a trip to Aichi may remain the only way to see this one. No end date for the screening run has been announced either.