MADHOUSE and director Shingo Natsume are making a significant play with ghost – end of night, an original anime film set to open across Japan on 11 February 2027. Produced in partnership with Bandai Namco Film Works, the project landed a cast reveal teaser this week that confirms some genuinely unusual creative decisions — the kind that tend to separate memorable theatrical anime from the crowd.
Director Shingo Natsume and MADHOUSE
Natsume’s track record speaks for itself. He directed the first season of One-Punch Man, helmed the surrealist original Sonny Boy, and served as series director on Space Dandy — three productions that used animation to do things live-action simply cannot. The decision to return to wholly original material for a theatrical feature is consistent with that creative posture. MADHOUSE, meanwhile, remains one of the few studios whose involvement alone shifts expectations upward; the studio’s theatrical output over the past decade includes some of the most visually ambitious anime films produced in Japan.
Live-Action Voices for an Anime Film
The casting is where things get interesting. Rather than drawing from the pool of established voice actors, ghost – end of night brings in two names primarily known from Japanese live-action film and television.
Mayu Hotta — whose credits include Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time and the survival drama series Alice in Borderland — voices Nika, the story’s protagonist. Issei Takahashi, a prominent stage and screen actor, takes the role of Mas. The pairing brings a different register of performance to the material, and reaction from Japanese fans who’ve seen the teaser has been largely positive about the choice.
A Young Ace Manga Running Alongside
A manga adaptation illustrated by artist Himiko is currently serialising in Kadokawa’s Young Ace. Based on what’s been shared, it functions as a companion work rather than a direct page-for-page retelling — a sensible approach that lets readers arrive at the film without having already consumed the whole story. Himiko’s art style brings a distinct warmth and energy that complements what’s visible in the animated teaser.
Hitsujibungaku’s Six-Song Contribution
Indie rock outfit Hitsujibungaku is composing six original songs for the film, including the theme. Six tracks is not a token involvement — it suggests the music is woven into the film’s structure rather than bolted on at credits. The band has built a quietly devoted following across East and Southeast Asia over the past few years, with their atmospheric, introspective sound proving a strong fit for emotionally grounded storytelling. Their involvement here will be a genuine draw for a portion of the audience that might otherwise only come in on Natsume’s name alone.
Cast Reveal Teaser
Singapore Outlook
No Southeast Asian theatrical dates have been announced yet. That said, original anime films with this level of pedigree — backed by a major Japanese distributor, directed by someone of Natsume’s standing, and carrying music from an act with genuine regional traction — have a reasonable history of securing theatrical runs in Singapore. Hitsujibungaku’s growing fanbase in the region adds further incentive for distributors to bring this one across. We’ll post an update as soon as a local date is confirmed.
ghost – end of night opens in Japan on 11 February 2027. The cast reveal teaser is live now on the Bandai Namco Film Works YouTube channel.