The official website for Soko Kihei Votoms Haiiro no Hexe—two new films expanding the Armored Trooper Votoms franchise from Sunrise and Production I.G—revealed cast details, character art and a 30-second teaser on Friday.
Miyuki Sawashiro voices Ash Vamps, a feared mercenary pilot known as the Grey Witch, opposite Mabuki Ando as Maki Stauffenberg, an officer covertly investigating Ash’s past. Original concept designs come from Kazuchika Kise (Made in Abyss), with a character design team spanning Shingo Ogiso, Takashi Kojima and Tetsuya Nishio.
Mamoru Oshii directs both films, working under the supervision of original 1983 Votoms creator Ryosuke Takahashi. Mechanical design duties are shared by Shinobu Tsuneki and manga artist Yoshiro Sono, while longtime Oshii collaborator Kenji Kawai (Ghost in the Shell) scores the soundtrack.
The original 1983 series helped define the gritty “real robot” mecha subgenre alongside Mobile Suit Gundam, following elite pilot Chirico Cuvie as he’s framed as a traitor amid a century-long war between the Gilgamesh Confederation and Balarant Union, centered on the fragile but deadly VOTOMS mecha. Section23 Films’ Maiden Japan label most recently released the original series on Blu-ray in 2019-2020, and the franchise has spawned numerous spinoffs, most recently 2011’s Armored Trooper Votoms: Alone Again.