Two active Mongolian sumo wrestlers have been cast in their first-ever voice acting roles for the upcoming Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia TV anime series. The anime is scheduled to begin broadcasting in Japan on July 4, 2026.
Sumo wrestler Tamawashi (whose full name is Ichiro Tamawashi) will voice Genghis Khan, the founder of the Mongol Empire, while Tamashoho (whose full name is Manpei Tamashoho) will voice an unnamed “resilient Mongol soldier.” Both wrestlers will also be playing several other characters in the series.
A special English-subtitled comment video featuring Tamawashi and Tamashoho has also been released in conjunction with the casting announcement.
They join a main anime voice cast that will star:
- • Akira Sekine as Sitara
- • Ami Koshimizu as Töregene
- • Houko Kuwashima as Fatima
- • Jun Saito as Muhammad
- • Hiro Shimono as Ögedei
- • Ryota Suzuki as Tolui
- • Miyu Irino as Shira
- • Daisuke Namikawa as Chagatai
- • Kenji Nojima as Jochi
Naoko Yamada (director of A Silent Voice, K-ON!, The Heike Story, The Colors Within) is serving as the chief director for the anime series, with Abel Gongora (Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, DAN DA DAN Season 2 co-director) as director, Kenichi Yoshida (Eureka Seven character designer) as character designer and animation chief, Kanichi Kato (The Eminence in Shadow) as series composer, and Koshiro Hino as music composer. Science SARU is in charge of the animation production.
Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia is based on Tomato Soup’s A Witch’s Life in Mongol manga series. It began serialization on Akita Shoten’s Souffle website on September 25, 2021 and has also been serialized in Mystery Bonita magazine since March 6, 2025. Five tankobon volumes have been released in Japan as of April 2025, with a sixth volume set to be released on July 15, 2026. Its Japanese title is Tenmaku no Jaadugar.
The manga series was the number one title in the female reader category of This Manga is Amazing! 2023 and the top historical fiction manga in Apple Books Store’s 2022 Best Manga list.
Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia will be featured at this year’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival under the TV Films selection, alongside other anime like Sparks of Tomorrow, Takopi’s Original Sin, and Candy Caries. It will also have its U.S. premiere at Anime Expo 2026 on July 3, 2026.
Yen Press releases the manga in English under the title A Witch’s Life in Mongol and describes the main synopsis as:
The time: the thirteenth century. The place: Yeke Mongol Ulus, the greatest empire the world has ever known. The woman: Fatima, hailing from Persia, where medical technique and scientific knowledge have been perfected beyond all precedent. Fatima’s desire for a stage where she can put her knowledge to work has brought her to the palace of the Mongols, where she falls under the wing of Töregene, the sixth wife of Ögedei, the second Great Khan—a mighty woman with complicated feelings about the direction of the empire. These two women are the axel upon which the politics of the palace, and soon the very world, will turn…
Source: press release