Voice actor Nobunaga Shimazaki has been cast as the young-adult version of Oniyasha in the currently airing The World Is Dancing TV anime, with an accompanying character visual of the older Oniyasha also unveiled. The anime began airing in Japan on July 2, 2026 and streams on HIDIVE in select territories; Shimazaki can be heard in the preview for Episode 11.
The story
The World Is Dancing is a historical drama about the origins of Noh theatre. Shochiku’s synopsis: in 1374, amid the conflict between the Northern and Southern Courts, a boy named Oniyasha is born into a family of sarugaku performers. Haunted by the question of why people dance, everything changes the day he witnesses a dance he feels to be truly “good.” This is the story of the boy who would one day shape the art of Noh and be remembered as Zeami — the real historical figure who codified Noh in the 14th–15th centuries and wrote its foundational treatises.
An unusually prestigious production
The staff list is heavy with specialists. Toshimasa Kuroyanagi (Backflip!!, The Great Passage) directs at CyPic, with Keigo Sasaki as character designer, Sawako Kawamitsu as series composer, and Daisuke Shinoda (co-composer on Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online Season 2) on music. The production also credits a Nohgaku supervisor (Kohei Kawaguchi), two choreographers (Kaiji Moriyama and Mimiko Kawamura), and a historical supervisor (Katsuyuki Shimizu) — the kind of consultancy roles you see on a serious period piece rather than a standard seasonal anime.
Source material
The historical manga by Kazuto Mihara ran in Kodansha’s Morning seinen magazine from March 2021 to October 2022 across six volumes. Kodansha USA licensed it for English release. CyPic — the same CyberAgent-backed studio handling the Kagurabachi anime — is positioning itself as a studio for ambitious, globally-minded projects, and a carefully researched drama about the birth of Noh is an unusual, distinctive entry in a season otherwise dominated by isekai and shonen action.
Via AniTrendz.