Armored Trooper Votoms: Die Graue Hexe Announced: The Legendary Mecha Series Returns After 15 Years!

Mecha enthusiasts, buckle up! One of the heavy hitters of the science fiction and robot anime world, Armored Trooper Votoms, is breaking its 15-year silence. According to the official announcement, the new project in the series will be titled Armored Trooper Votoms: Die Graue Hexe (The Gray Witch) and will be released as a two-part film series. The first film is scheduled to hit theaters in Japan on November 20, 2026.

What makes this new project truly exciting is the legendary talent involved. Mamoru Oshii, the visionary director behind masterpieces such as Ghost in the Shell and Patlabor, is sitting in the director's chair for this new film. Oshii will be joined by Kenji Kawai, known for his unforgettable scores. The original creator of the series, Ryōsuke Takahashi, will serve as a supervisor on the project, ensuring the story remains faithful to its roots. The animation production is being handled through a collaboration between Sunrise (Bandai Namco Filmworks) and Production I.G.

Armored Trooper Votoms revolutionized the mecha genre when it first aired in 1983. Taking the "Real Robot" movement, which began with Mobile Suit Gundam, even further, the series depicted giant robots not as heroic icons, but as mass-produced, expendable war machines. The series' iconic mecha design, the Scopedog, remains one of the most beloved designs in the genre. The story follows the journey of Chirico Cuvie, a skilled pilot who has lost his memory, as he attempts to unravel an intergalactic conspiracy while facing the brutal realities of war.

This new announcement is part of the 50th-anniversary celebrations of the Sunrise studio.