As Capcom will get nearer to the 2026 launch of Onimusha: Manner of the Sword, director Satoru Nihei and producer Akihito Kadowaki have revealed particulars in regards to the resolution behind utilizing Musashi Miyamoto – as performed by actor Toshiro Mifune – because the protagonist. In an interview with Automaton Media, Nihei and Kadowaki revealed that unique plans didn’t embody Miyamoto as the sport’s protagonist.
Reasonably, Kadowaki stated that the choice was made as a result of Capcom wished to focus on a worldwide viewers with Onimusha: Manner of the Sword. To do that, the builders determined to go along with some of the well-known real-world samurais in historical past.
“To be utterly trustworthy, at the start of growth, we didn’t plan to have Musashi Miyamoto because the protagonist,” stated Kadowaki. “The primary character was speculated to be a ‘anonymous samurai.’ Nonetheless, since we had been aiming to increase to the worldwide market, we wished to take advantage of interesting components of the sport simpler to convey. After consulting with Nihei, I got here to the choice to borrow the identify of the legendary Musashi Miyamoto.”
Kadowaki famous that, since Miyamoto was “an especially fashionable determine” owing to depictions of the individual by way of a number of various media, together with motion pictures, having him as the sport’s protagonist might doubtlessly make it extra accessible for non-Japanese gamers.
“We acknowledge him as an especially fashionable determine. He seems as a personality in quite a few eminent works of fiction, and The Ebook of 5 Rings, which he wrote, has been translated and is being learn abroad,” Kadowaki defined.
As for going with Mifune’s depiction of Musashi Miyamoto, Nihei stated that he went with classical depictions of the individual all through Japanese cinema. The workforce ultimately settled for Mifune because of his look and total manner when enjoying the function of Miyamoto, which matched up with what the studio wished out of the character.
Nihei and Kadowaki had beforehand spoken in regards to the bother that was concerned with getting the rights to make use of Mifune’s likeness for Onimusha: Manner of the Sword. The duo revealed that, total, it took Capcom two years to get Mifune’s likeness proper, whereas additionally confirming that growth on the sport had began all the way in which again in at the least 2020.
“There are already many portrayals of Musashi Miyamoto’s character on the market,” stated Kadowaki. “That’s the reason we had been very specific about making our new protagonist Musashi right into a brand-new character. And in that sense, we had been completely decided to make use of Mifune’s face to painting him. With how a lot we had been specific in regards to the particulars, we’re assured that he turned out to be an exceptionally nice collection protagonist.”
Mifune’s depiction of Miyamoto was confirmed to be the protagonist of Onimusha: Manner of the Sword when the sport bought a trailer again in February. The trailer confirmed off a number of issues from the sport, together with its fight system, in addition to its use of the collection’ conventional Japanese setting.
Onimusha: Manner of the Sword is coming to PC, PS5 and Xbox Sequence X/S in 2026. For extra particulars, try a video that includes the total playthrough of the sport’s demo from Gamescom 2025. Additionally try the trailer from final month.
