From wielding three swords to fighting magic with his bare hands, Mackenyu is officially stepping into another major anime universe.
The Japanese actor, best known internationally for playing Roronoa Zoro in Netflix’s live-action One Piece, has been cast as Mash Burnedead in the upcoming live-action adaptation of Mashle: Magic and Muscles.
The announcement follows the movie’s official reveal earlier this week, when producers confirmed that it would arrive in Japanese cinemas on March 19, 2027.
And this time, Mackenyu won’t be carrying swords.
The story of Mashle takes place in a world where magic determines almost everything about a person’s status and opportunities.
There’s one problem for its main character: Mash was born without magical abilities.
Instead of learning spells, he relies on something much simpler: an almost ridiculous amount of physical strength.
After his secret is discovered, Mash enters a prestigious magic school and attempts to survive among powerful students while pursuing the title of Divine Visionary.
The live-action movie will be directed by Yuichi Fukuda, known for adapting manga and anime stories into Japanese comedies and action films.
A newly released teaser shows Mackenyu preparing for the role, including a scene involving weight training and another revealing the distinctive facial mark worn by Mash.
According to the actor, he spent around three years preparing physically after being approached about the project.
The casting is particularly interesting because Mashle has a completely different tone from One Piece.
While Zoro is a serious swordsman, Mash is known for his almost expressionless personality, unusual strength and unintentionally hilarious behaviour.
The upcoming movie will need to capture that combination of action and comedy to recreate what made the manga and anime popular.
For anime fans, the big question is whether Mackenyu can make the jump from one beloved character to another.
