Four Villains Get Their Voices
The headline addition is Mamiko Noto (Ai Enma in Hell Girl, the Empress Dowager in The Apothecary Diaries) as Alcyone. In her comment, Noto called Alcyone's search for love earnest and heart-wrenching, and said the show's visuals pulled her in even during the sadder scenes.
Ayumu Murase (Shoyo Hinata in Haikyu!!) plays Ascot. Murase said he first learned about Rayearth from classmates at his voice-acting school who kept singing the original theme at karaoke, and that he read the manga while preparing for the audition. Hitomi Ueda voices Caldina, and Hiroki Yasumoto (Chad in Bleach) takes Lafarga. Yasumoto remembered the original as the anime that aired in Monday prime time, but said what he feels now is less nostalgia than joy and a sense of duty.
According to the report from Japanese entertainment news site Oricon News, all four play formidable enemies who stand in the Magic Knights' way. The announcement came from a stage event at the Kyoto International Manga Anime Fair 2026, the annual Kyoto fan convention known as Kyomaf, where Ayane Sakura (Hikaru), Rumi Okubo (Umi), Rie Takahashi (Fuu) and Yuki Kaji (Clef) appeared in person.
What's in the Second Trailer
The second main trailer shows the three Magic Knights fighting wave after wave of enemies, and it also introduces the Mashin, the giant beings whose presence Oricon describes as overwhelming. It packs in the series' magic, action, and both theme songs.
The opening theme is "Otome no Tsurugi" (roughly "A Maiden's Sword") by Toaka. The ending theme is "Hoshiakari" ("Starlight") by Yurina Kawaguchi. The score is by Yuki Kajiura, Takumi Ozawa and Shiho Terada, according to the official site's staff page.
The anime is produced at E&H production, the studio led by Jujutsu Kaisen season 1 director Sunghoo Park, who is credited here as creative producer. Yui Miura directs, Shigeru Murakoshi handles series composition, and Satomi Watanabe is character designer and chief animation director. TMS Entertainment, which animated the 1994 series, is on the production side this time.
A 30th Anniversary Remake of a CLAMP Classic
Magic Knight Rayearth began as a CLAMP manga serialized in Kodansha's shojo magazine Nakayoshi from 1993 to 1995, and the first TV anime ran from 1994 to 1995. That show's opening, Naomi Tamura's "Yuzurenai Negai," sold more than one million copies.
The story follows three second-year middle schoolers, Hikaru Shidou, Umi Ryuuzaki and Fuu Hououji, who are on a school field trip to Tokyo Tower when Princess Emeraude suddenly summons them to the other world of Cephiro. To rescue the captive princess, they set out as the legendary Magic Knights.
The new series was announced in July 2024 to mark the 30th anniversary of the 1994 broadcast. Oricon notes that Japanese fans reacted online at the time by calling Rayearth a personal bible and asking for the original songs and voice actors to return. The main trio has been recast: Ayane Sakura voices Hikaru, Rumi Okubo voices Umi, and Rie Takahashi voices Fuu. Saori Hayami plays Princess Emeraude and Yuki Ono plays Zagato, per the official cast page.
Looking Ahead
Magic Knight Rayearth premieres October 7, 2026, in TV Asahi's late-night IMAnimation W block, Wednesdays at 11:45 p.m., and will run for two consecutive cours, roughly half a year of episodes.
No international streaming partner has been announced yet. In the meantime, Kodansha Comics publishes the manga in English as two 25th Anniversary hardcover box sets, and Discotek Media released the 1994 anime on Blu-ray in North America.