The World Ends With You Anime Debuts First Visual, Cast Additions

As part of the inaugural virtual version of Anime Expo, Anime Expo Lite, Square Enix fully revealed the debut look at the upcoming anime based on The World Ends With You. After garnering a cult following from the Nintendo DS release back in the late 2000s, and a revival thanks to its mobile phone and Nintendo Switch releases, The World Ends With You: The Animation will be branching out the original game to the world of anime. During its presentation during Anime Expo Lite, we not only got our first trailer for the new series but a good look at its characters as well.

The World Ends With You: The Animation will feature some digital CG art incorporated into its animation, and by the looks of the first visual, it will be bringing many of the bright colors and style fans came to love from the video games. Not only that, there seems to be a major shake up as these characters have upgraded to smartphones compared to the flip phones of the original.

The World Ends With You: The Animation is currently aiming for a 2021 release, and will feature returning staff and cast from the original game. Kazuya Ichikawa will direct the series for Domerica x SHIN-EI Animation, and the official website for the series revealed the first additions to the cast with the likes of Koki Uchiyama as Neku, Anna Hachimine as Shiki, Subaru Kimura as Beat, Ayana Taketatsu as Rhyme, and Ryohei Kimura as Joshua all confirmed to return.

What’s your first impression on The World Ends With You’s anime debut? Are you excited for its big premiere next year? Are you hoping it directly adapts the game as is or would you rather have some changes for the anime? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or you can even reach out to me directly about all things animated and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!