Hoozuki no Reitetsu 2nd Season: Sono Ni

Also Known As

Hozuki’s Coolheadedness
鬼灯の冷徹

Background

Written and illustrated by Natsumi Eguchi, Hozuki no Reitetsu (or Hozuki’s Coolheadedness) is a dark comedy and supernatural series which was first serialized in Kodansha’s Weekly Morning in March 2011, and as of February 2018 there have been 25 volumes released.

The manga has been well-received, winning the Honorable Mention Award of the 57th Chiba Tetsuya Awards in addition to being nominated for the 5th Manga Taisho award, the 16th Japan Media Arts Festival Awards, and the 38th Kodansha Manga Award for Best General Manga.

It was then adapted into a TV anime by Wit Studio in January 2014 which was directed by Hiro Kaburaki before being taken over by Studio Deen for season 2 with Kazuhiro Yoneda as director.

Synopsis

The series follows Ogre Hozuki, a demon working under Enma Daio, the Head Judge and King of Hell who decides what kind of hell the dead will be sent to. It’s Hozuki’s job to manage the Japanese hell, and his subordinates are Karauri and Nasubi.

Also appearing around him are Oko, the chief assistant of Mortal Hell, Peach Maki, the famous idol of Hell, and Yoshitsune Minamoto, a commander of the Crow-Tengu Police, as well as Hozuki’s rival Hakutaku, a Chinese medicine expert working at Shangri-La who’s assisted by Momotaro and his three pets from the original Momotaro fairytale: Shiro, the dog, Kakisuke, the monkey, and Rurio, the pheasant.

Anime Adaptation

The series was first adapted into an anime by Wit Studio with Hiro Kaburaki as director, and season 1 aired from January 2014 through April. Season 2, however, has been animated by Studio Deen (Rave Master, Vampire Knight) with Kazuhiro Yoneda (Bungo Stray Dogs, Tiger & Bunny) as director with Midori Goto (Psycho-Pass, Genshiken Nidaime) working on series composition and TOMISIRO (Butlers: Chitose Momotose Monogatari, Macross Delta) working on music.

The first cour of season 2 began airing on Oct. 8, 2017, and the second cour, Hozuki no Reitetsu 2nd Season: Sono Ni, will begin airing in April 2018. It’s also been revealed that Sumire Uesaka, the voice actress for Peach Maki, will be performing the ending theme.

Characters

Hozuki (CV: Hiroki Yasumoto)
The cruel and cool-headed demon working under Enma Daio, the King of Hell. Hozuki is tasked with solving problems that pop up around Hell, and when he’s not busy doing that, he takes care of the animals. He’s also very intelligent and treats women well.

Prior to his current role, he traveled around researching in an attempt to find inspiration for Japanese Hell, and during this time he met Hakutaku. Before becoming a demon, he was a human child who was sacrificed and given his current name by Enma.

Karashi (CV: Atsumi Tanezaki)
A rabbit from the story Fire-Crackled Mountain, she is an extremely gifted tormentor living in Hell. Despite being cute, she enjoys torturing those with poor morals, and she holds a grudge against the raccoon from her same story. She also has a very short attention span.

Enma Daio (CV: Takashi Nagasako)
The Great King of Hell and the Judge of the dead who is also Hozuki’s godfather. Despite his role, he has a very pleasant and welcoming appearance and frequently smiles. He seems to have trouble being extremely cruel, leaning on Hozuki at times for this.

Hakutaku (CV: Koji Yusa)
A Celestial Beast and pharmacist who lives at the Sento Farm in Heaven. He employed Momotaro and spends his days preparing herbal concoctions. He’s the arch-nemesis of Hozuki but is often gracious and charming, making him extremely popular with women.

Peach Maki (CV: Sumire Uesaka)
The adorable and famous idol of Hell.

Momotaro (CV: Daisuke Hirakawa)
A slightly arrogant samurai stemming from the folktale of the same name. Hozuki turns him into a hardworking man, and he’s employed by Hakutaku whom he’s shown to be respectful towards.

Shiro (CV: Yumiko Kobayashi)
Originally Momotaro’s companion from the Japanese folktale of the same name, Shiro is now a minion of Hell who punishes those who abuse animals during their lives. He gets along well with Hozuki and is extremely energetic and friendly to those he trusts.

Kakisuke (CV: Hiroki Goto)
A talking monkey who traveled alongside Momotaro. He’s terribly regretful for what he did to a crab and grows depressed when he thinks about it, and he now works in Animal Hell alongside Shiro and Rurio.

Rurio (CV: Takashi Matsuyama)
A pheasant who journeyed alongside Momotaro in the original fairytale. He now works in Animal Hell with Kakisuke and Shiro.

Cast

Hiroki Yasumoto: Hozuki
Atsumi Tanezaki: Karashi
Takashi Nagasako: Enma Daio
Peach Maki: Sumire Uesaka
Shiro: Yumiko Kobayashi
Momotaro: Daisuke Hirakawa
Kakisuke: Hiroki Goto
Hakutaku: Koji Yusa
Rurio: Takashi Matsuyama
Ichiko: Satomi Sato
Oko: Eri Kitamura
Niko: Yui Ogura
Karauri: Tetsuya Kakihara
Miki: Ayaka Suwa
Nasubi: Touko Aoyama

Staff

Original Work: Natsumi Eguchi (Hozuki no Reitetsu, serialized in Kodansha’s Morning )
Director: Kazuhiro Yoneda
Series Composition: Midori Goto
Character Designer: Jiro Omatsuri
Editor: Rie Matsubara
Sound Director: Shouji Hata
Sound Effects: Emi Takanashi
Sound Work: Sound Team Don Juan
Music: TOMISIRO
Music Work: King Records
Studio: Studio Deen
Ending Theme: Sumire Uesaka

Broadcast Information

Premiering in April 2018

Official Links

Website (Japanese)
Twitter (Japanese)

Related News

Hozuki's Coolheadedness Anime to Continue in April!
Hozuki no Reitetsu Season 2 Key Visual & New Characters Revealed!
A Second Season of Hozuki no Reitetsu Is Finally Coming!

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