Mamoru Oshii's Armored Trooper Votoms: Die Graue Hexe confirms a two-film theatrical rollout with the first part opening on November 20 in Japanese theaters.
Armored Trooper Votoms: Die Graue Hexe, the franchise's first new anime in over a decade, has confirmed its release format as a two-part theatrical project. The first film will open in Japanese theaters on November 20, 2026, with a newly released teaser, key visual, and screenshots offering the first substantial look at the production.
Mamoru Oshii, the director behind the original Ghost in the Shell film and the Patlabor film series, directs Die Graue Hexe in a co-production between Sunrise and Production I.G. The project marks Sunrise's 50th anniversary celebration and brings together two of anime's most storied studios for a franchise that has not seen new animation in approximately fifteen years.
Ryosuke Takahashi, who created the original 1983 Armored Trooper Votoms television series, participates as production supervisor providing creative continuity between the 43-year-old franchise and its modern revival. Kenji Kawai, a frequent Oshii collaborator whose scores for Ghost in the Shell and the Patlabor films rank among anime's most acclaimed, composes the soundtrack. Mechanical design is handled by Yoshinobu Tsuneki and Yoshitada Sono, the latter known for his work on the Votoms manga AT Stories.
The subtitle translates to "The Grey Witch," though plot details beyond the title remain limited. The original 1983 series followed Chirico Cuvie, a soldier in an elite VOTOMS mech unit who becomes a pawn in a vast military conspiracy, branded a traitor and forced to survive while uncovering the truth behind a mysterious woman connected to an ancient secret.
The Votoms franchise distinguished itself from other mecha series through its grounded military realism, gritty tone, and relatively small-scale Scopedog mechs a stark contrast to the super-powered machines of Gundam and other contemporaries. Whether Die Graue Hexe continues Chirico's story or introduces a new protagonist in the same universe has not been confirmed, but Takahashi's involvement as supervisor suggests strong continuity with the franchise's existing lore.
The combination of Oshii's direction, Kawai's music, and the Sunrise-Production I.G partnership gives Die Graue Hexe the profile of a prestige mecha project rather than a standard franchise revival. Oshii has not directed a new anime production in several years, and his attachment elevates the Votoms return from franchise nostalgia to a genuine event for the medium.
The two-film structure suggests a scope larger than a single feature but more focused than a television series a format that has served mecha projects well in recent years. With the first film set for November 20, the second installment's date has not been disclosed.
For mecha fans, the fall 2026 season is shaping up as a significant moment. Die Graue Hexe joins Vertex Force and the Gundam franchise's continued theatrical presence in making the latter half of the year one of the genre's most densely packed periods in recent memory.
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