A new PV trailer has been released for the upcoming Ensemble Stars!! Tsuioku Selection “Checkmate” web anime series, which begins streaming on YouTube on March 10, 2024.
This is the third web anime series in the “Tsuioku Selection” series of the Ensemble Stars!! franchise, following “Element” in April 2023 and “Crossroad” in November 2023. Both series can be viewed on the Ensemble Stars!! YouTube channel without English subtitles.
Ensemble Stars!! Tsuioku Selection “Checkmate” retains its core staff members from “Crossroad”, including Osamu Yamasaki (Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles) as director, Shinichi Inotsume (Spy Classroom) as screenwriter, and Kenji Kawai (Ghost in the Shell) as music composer. Akira (Ensemble Stars! series screenwriter) is credited with scenario drafts and as the original creator. DandeLion Animation Studio will return to handle the animation production.
Meanwhile, the main voice cast includes:
- • Daiki Yamashita as Ritsu Sakuma
- • Shintarou Asanuma as Leo Tsukinaga
- • Masami Itou as Izumi Sena
- • Ryou Kitamura as Arashi Narukami
- • Hikaru Midorikawa as Eichi Tenshouin
- • Reiou Tsuchida as Tsukasa Suou
- • Kousuke Toriumi as Madara Mikejima
The Ensemble Stars! multimedia franchise started with a 2015 mobile game from Happy Elements. Much like “Element” and “Crossroad”, “Checkmate” was originally the name of an event story from the game in July 2017. Other anime in the franchise include the 2019 Ensemble Stars! TV anime series and the 2022 Ensemble Stars!! -Road to Show!!- film.