In one of the absolutely funkiest, and wildest reveals for an anime in recent memory, Cygames revealed a new original anime titled The Marginal Service, which is set to debut in 2023.
The anime’s cast has also been revealed, featuring a cast of established voice actors including Kouki Uchiyama, Hiro Shimono, Tomokazu Sugita, Yūichi Nakamura, Kaori Nazuka, Shinichiro Miki, Mamoru Miyano, and Toshiyuki Morikawa, though who exactly they will be voicing is unknown.
The anime also has the tagline “the explosive debut of a bad new service!” Whatever this premise will be, it’s probably going to prove to be a hell of a time watching this series with how its teaser trailer exploded onto social media, no pun intended.
▍The Marginal Service Anime Story Speculation
Although the teaser barely showed off any information on the series, there are a few things we can infer from it to possibly piece together an overall plot for the story.
One of the few shots we get of the anime is this one stating it takes place in 202X, in “Shibu-Juku”, meaning that this takes place in either an alternate Japan with a mixture of Shibuya and Shinjuku, or the story takes place primarily between these two regions.
Shibuya and Shinjuku are two incredibly popular districts in Tokyo and are also known for a lot of shady dealings including the red light district and other gang activities. It’s possible that this series dives into the criminal underbelly with our characters being involved it it, either as members of it, or enforcers trying to stop it.
Another shot of the anime shows off what looks like a machine in the background, with an imposing man standing in front of it, dwarfed in comparison. With a WARNING label placed in front of it, the series seems to put great emphasis on this being as a threat. Could this be some kind of rogue Ai, or monster roaming through the streets the team will have to deal with? or something the gangs use to consolidate power?
▍The Marginal Service Characters and Cast
Not much is known about the plot of the series, though the list of characters was revealed with most of them featuring fairly ridiculously cool names such as Brian Nightraider, Zeno Stokes, Bolts Dexter, Robin Timbert, Lyra Candeyheart, Cyrus N. Kuca, Theodore Tompson, and a cute squirrel mascot named Peck Desmond.
Unfortunately, their cast members were not officially revealed, so you can speculate between which characters will be voiced by Kouki Uchiyama, Hiro Shimono, Tomokazu Sugita, Yūichi Nakamura, Kaori Nazuka, Shinichiro Miki, Mamoru Miyano, and Toshiyuki Morikawa.\
■ Brian Nightraider
■ Zeno Stokes
■ Bolts Dexter
■ Robin Timbert
■ Lyria Candyheart
■ Cyrus N. Kuca
■ Theodore Thompson
■ Peck Desmond
▍The Marginal Service Anime Staff
Director: Masayuki Sakoi
Series Script: Kenta Ihara
Character Design: Yoshio Kosakai
Animation Production: Studio 3Hz