Joseph Luster
February 14, 2025 
Following up on the initial announcement from back in June 2023, a premiere window has been set for the anime adaptation of Machiko Kyo’s award-winning World War II manga cocoon. The main cast and staff has been revealed along with plans for a late March 2025 premiere on the BS NHK network in Japan, with the general NHK network to follow in August.
As previously reported, the cocoon anime has former Studio Ghibli animator Hitomi Tateno—who worked at the studio on projects from 1988’s My Neighbor Totoro to 2014’s When Marnie Was There—on board as animation producer at her company Sasayuri, which is handling animation production.
Beyond that, Ina Yukimitsu has been announced as director, with Kensuke Ushio handling the music. The lead voice cast includes Hikari Matsushima as Mayu and Marika Ito as San.
Here’s how the official website for the 14th Japan Media Arts Festival—which named the cocoon manga as one of its Jury Selections in the manga division in 2010—describes it:
cocoon Plot
This full-length manga work is a story of World war ll told from the viewpoints of adolescent girls, with the theme of the Himeyuri corps in Okinawa. Throughout this work, a nonfiction story of war is transformed into a fiction. By deviating from nonfiction and telling the story of the war, this manga should provide an opportunity for readers who have not experienced the war to talk about the past, and make the readers feel that this is a story of their own.
Source: Crunchyroll News
