Professional mahjong player Kana Nakada of Pon no Michi All Stars performs
Kodoani.com – Mahjong Anime “Pon no Michi” (The Way of Pon) posted the first PV on the anime’s official YouTube channel, along with introducing the opening theme song “Ponpopopon” performed by Kana Nakada, former member of idol group Nogizaka46, and other Other professional mahjong players under the name Pon no Michi All Stars.
The anime’s cast includes:
Kaori Maeda trong vai Nashiko Jippensha
Iori Saeki trong vai Pai Kawahigashi
Shion Wakayama trong vai Izumi Tokutomi
Yui Kondou trong vai Riche Hayashi
Akio Ōtsuka as the mahjong spirit character, Chonbo
Hibiku Yamamura trong vai Haneru Emi
The anime is expected to premiere in January 2024 in the “Animeism” time slot on TBS, MBS and BS-TBS channels.
The story takes place in Onomichi City, Hiroshima Prefecture, where a high school student named Nashiko Jippensha is kicked out of her home and decides to fix up an abandoned mahjong shop that her father used to run. She turned it into a place for her friends to have a good time, cook, relax, and sometimes participate in mahjong matches.
This anime series is credited by IIS-P for the original story and was directed and written by Tatsuma Minamikawa at OLM. The original creator of The Quintessential Quintuplets, Negi Haruba, sketched the original character designs and Kenji Ōta (lead animation, Pokémon XY) adapted the designs for the animation.