A collaboration Neputa from the anime "Flying Witch" will appear at the "Hirosaki Neputa Festival" to be held in Hirosaki from August 1st.

"Hirosaki Neputa" is a summer festival designated as an important intangible folk cultural property together with "Aomori Nebuta", and more than 80 groups participate every year. Each group walks around the city while pulling the fan-shaped floats called "Ougi Neputa" and the three-dimensionally assembled doll-shaped "Kumi Neputa", and put them on the Neputa Hayashi (Yayado). "They will be operated by the hands of local residents.

The animation "Flying Witch" is a fiction work that depicts the daily lives of witches set in Hirosaki, and was broadcast on Nippon TV series including Aomori Broadcasting from April to June this year. The original is a manga of the same name serialized in "Separate Volume Shonen Magazine" (Kodansha).

Collaborative Neputa will be produced by each group of "Character Neputa" with the motif of the characters appearing in the anime, and will be shown during the night service on the 1st and 2nd. "While 81 groups are participating in this year's Hirosaki Neputa, 15 groups are currently entering. There may be a few more groups by the day," says Daigo Shirato of the Hirosaki Tourism Convention Association.

On the day of operation, voice actor Minami Shinoda who played the role of the anime's main character, Makoto Obata, and a friend of the main character, voice actor Nao Ishiwata, Shiori Mikami will appear and participate in the city hall Neputa group. Mr. Mikami is from Aomori prefecture, and according to his official Twitter, it is the first time to go home during the Neputa period.

After the service, the character Neputa is scheduled to be exhibited at the "Flying Witch setting painting exhibition" held on the 1st floor of the Masaki Naka Information Center in Hirosaki City. The setting exhibition is from July 29th to August 30th.

Mr. Shirato said, "We expect that more tourists will visit the sacred place pilgrimage during the Neputa period and summer vacation. On August 1, we will update the stage tour map to anime illustrations and plan to prepare more collaboration products. I am motivated."

It runs from 19:00. Hirosaki Neputa Festival is until August 7th.