We Can Thank Lycoris Recoil for Death Stranding 2

One major role in Death Stranding 2 was created thanks to Hideo Kojima's love of Lycoris Recoil.

By Evan Valentine

Hideo Kojima is thought of as a legend in the video industry and for good reason. Responsible for such colossal hits as the Metal Gear Solid series, the video game creator forged his own studio that hit the ground floor running thanks to one of its biggest hits, Death Stranding. Starring Norman Reedus and a cavalcade of Hollywood stars to tell the tale of a dystopian future, Kojima was more than willing to revisit this universe as a sequel remains in the works. In a recent interview, a major anime voice actor confirmed why she was added to the sequel's roster, proving that Hideo Kojima has a serious love for anime.

If you're unfamiliar with the story of Lyocris Recoil, the anime adaptation follows main character Takina Inoue, a part of a band of assassins that are sponsored by the government. When the anime debuted in 2022 from A-1 Pictures, it grew to wild success, even without an initial manga and/or light novel series to build its universe. While a second season has yet to be confirmed, a new mini-series that takes on a more "slice of life" style to the franchise is in the works. Also, a movie has been rumored to be in production as anime producer Shunsuke Sugimoto hinted at this fact in a now-deleted Tweet which read, "Lycoris Recoil has a new animated film in the works. Please look forward to it! You will surely see something interesting."

The Lycoris Recoil/Death Stranding Connection

While this "crossover" won't see the characters of Lycoris Recoil interacting with Sam Porter Bridges, it proves how Hideo Kojima fell in love with the anime series. Voice actor Shion Wakayama might be best known for her role as Takina in the aforementioned anime series but she will be joining the world of Death Stranding for its sequel. On top of the assassin-focused anime series, Wakayama has had major roles in series such as Castlevania: Nocturne, Pokemon: Paldean Winds, Nier Automata Ver1.1a, Mushoku Tensei, and more. This month, she is set to be a part of one of the fall season's biggest anime arrivals as she takes on the role of Momo in Dandadan. 

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Hideo Kojima's Anime Connection

Kojima has never hidden his love of all things pop culture, anime included with one major tie not involving Lycoris Recoil. In the first Death Stranding entry, Hideo included none other than horror legend Junji Ito into the game as the master of horror played a role in Sam's quest. The two prolific creators were initially set to work with one another on the now-defunct Silent Hills, the game that was previewed via the now legendary demo, PT. While that project was never made, Kojima is currently working on a new horror video game dubbed "OD", which might just have a role for Ito. 

As of the writing of this article, Kojima has not revealed any plans to create a Death Stranding anime series but that hasn't stopped the creator from thinking of adapting the Norman Reedus-led property to a live-action film. Hideo will routinely share reviews of current movies on his social media accounts and in a recent interview with Variety, discussed the possibility of creating films and anime for his works, "What comes next are different forms of media: movies, anime, TV dramas, etc. Basically, expanding the game IP to other media. That's the second phase. That's what we're aiming for next. I created Kojima Productions under the scope of "digital entertainment," but I don't think it necessarily has to be a video game. We could create a new IP from a game, or an anime, or a film, or something totally different. Anything is possible, and that's the third phase."

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