VOTOMS: The Gray Witch Reveals New Trailer and Main Cast Ahead of November 20 Premiere

Article

A legacy mecha franchise just got its most substantial reveal yet, with a new trailer and lead cast confirmed ahead of its theatrical debut.

New Trailer and Cast

The full trailer, main character visuals, and lead cast for VOTOMS: The Gray Witch have been revealed. Miyuki Sawashiro plays Ash Vamps, a feared AT pilot known as "the soldier who always survives," and Mabuki Andou plays Maki Stauffenberg, an officer secretly investigating Ash's past. Additional cast members include Shinichirō Miki, Yūki Kaji, Yūichi Nakamura, Tomokazu Sugita, Daisuke Ono, Takahiro Sakurai, and Sumire Uesaka, among others.

Release and Staff

Director Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell, Patlabor) helms the project for Sunrise, with production cooperation from Production I.G, as part of Sunrise's 50th anniversary celebration. Original VOTOMS creator Ryosuke Takahashi serves as original creator and supervising producer, and Kenji Kawai — a frequent Oshii collaborator — composes the score. The film is a two-part theatrical release: Part 1 opens November 20, 2026, with Part 2's release window still to be announced.

What To Know

Original VOTOMS creator Ryosuke Takahashi personally supervising a Mamoru Oshii-directed revival — with an entirely new trailer, character reveal, and cast just dropped — is the kind of legacy-mecha news that gives longtime fans their first real look at how faithfully (or differently) this new take handles the franchise, ahead of its November theatrical run.

VOTOMS (1983) is a foundational "real robot" mecha series prized for its grounded, unglamorous take on mechanized war — pairing it with Mamoru Oshii, a director known for cerebral, atmospheric war and sci-fi storytelling, signals a deliberate creative match rather than a nostalgia-only cash-in.

What Fans Are Saying

• "Oshii directing a VOTOMS revival with Takahashi supervising is a genuinely exciting combo."
• "The trailer's tone feels true to the original's grounded mecha warfare style."
• "Sawashiro as the lead AT pilot is a great casting choice."

Original Japanese

• 「押井守監督×髙橋良輔監修という組み合わせが本当に楽しみ」
• 「予告の雰囲気が原作の泥臭い戦争描写を継承してる感じがする」
• 「沢城みゆきさんが主人公パイロット役なのは良いキャスティング」

Easy Japanese

新しいアニメ映画『装甲騎兵ボトムズ 灰色の魔女』の予告と声優が発表されました。11月20日に公開されます。