Cestvs: The Roman Fighter

Alternate Title

セスタス -The Roman Fighter-

Synopsis

Cestvs is a 15-year-old boy living in Rome at the height of the empire who is enslaved and forced to fight as a boxer in the Colosseum. He is placed into a training school for boxers and before long catches the attention of the newly appointed emperor, Nero. Can he change his fate and win his freedom?

Background

Cestvs: The Roman Fighter began as a manga series written and illustrated by Shizuya Wazarai which was serialized under the title Kento Ankoku Den Cestvs in Hakusensha's Young Animal magazine from 1997 to 2009. It has been collected and published as 15 tankobon volumes. A sequel titled Kendo Shito Den Cestvs was serialized in Young Animal from 2010 to 2014 before switching to Young Animal Arashi in 2014 and running until 2018. Since then, it has been serialized on Manga Park and has been published in nine tankobon volumes.

An anime adaptation was announced in November 2020. It is being produced by Bandai Namco Pictures and directed by Kazuya Monma with Toshifumi Kawase credited as the chief director, Toshifumi Kawase handling series composition and scripts along with Kouji Miura, Kei Yoshikuni handling 3D character designs, Ako Nakazawa and Yuka Shiga handling 2D character designs, and Akihiro Manabe, Masahiro Tokuda, and Yoshihei Ueda composing the music. The anime’s opening theme song is “Endeavor” Dragon Ash. It will premiere in Japan on April 14, 2021.

Characters

Cestvs (Voiced by: Hiromu Mineta)
A 15-year-old boxing slave from the lowest class in the Roman Empire. Though small in size, his natural agility and the boxing techniques he acquired from his master Zafar make him a contender even against other stronger opponents. He trains daily under the guidance of Zafar, convinced that if he continues to win in the Colosseum that he will win his freedom.

Zafar (Voiced by: Rikiya Koyama)
Cestvs’ master. He was once a legendary undefeated boxer known as the strongest ever but he retired after his left knee was injured during a fight with Demitrius. After that, he became a trainer at the Valens Training School. Although he is a strict teacher, he also cares for his pupils and gives his best to help them grow.

Ruska (Voiced by: Kensho Ono)
A Roman guard who is an expert in the mixed martial art of Pankration and is a prodigal fighter who has already perfected his skills at just 16 years old. He is a good-looking boy with blonde hair and is known as “Golden Ruska.” Though usually intelligent and sincere, in battle he is ruthless and merciless, which he considers to be a courtesy to his enemies. He has a deep hatred for his father, Demitrius, who drove him to insanity due to despising him and his mother, Lucretia, and he has made it his lifelong goal to defeat him with his own hands.

Nero (Voiced by: Yuto Uemura)
The 17-year-old fifth emperor of the Roman Empire. He is a devotee of the arts who loves art, music, and poetry. He is impressed by Cestvs and Ruska’s fighting abilities and asks Cestvs to become his supporter.

Sabina (Voiced by: Aya Endo)
The richest woman in Pompeii and the most beautiful woman in the world. Her extraordinary beauty has earned her the respect of many, but it has also given her an air of naivety and conceit that can easily become a source of trouble.

Demitrius (Voiced by: Hiroki Touchi)
Ruska’s father. He is the captain of the Roman Guard. He has won over 400 fights in the Roman arena and has built his position with his skill alone. He is also known as the “Golden Lion of Attica.” He lost his right eye in a fight with Zafar. He is extremely arrogant but his abilities are top-notch. Not only is he strong enough to kill three fully armed and armored gladiators, he has no equal in terms of techniques. He also behaves inconsiderately toward Ruska but sees this as a way of educating him.

Agrippina (Voiced by: Kikuko Inoue)
Nero’s mother and the future wife of the previous emperor, Claudius. She is a powerful woman with a fierce temperament, captivating beauty, and insatiable sex drive.

Emden (Voiced by: Ryota Takeuchi)
The strongest boxer from Pompeii, who was bought by the Poppea family as a child. He is obsessed with Sabina and strives to become the strongest boxer in the Colosseum in order to win her over.

Narrator (Voiced by: Akio Ohtsuka)

Music

Opening Theme Song: “Endeavor” Dragon Ash

• Anime Site (Japanese)
• Twitter (Japanese)

• Original Creator: Shizuya Wazarai
• Chief Director: Toshifumi Kawase
• Series Director: Kazuya Monma
• Series Composition: Toshifumi Kawase
• Script: Kouji Miura, Toshifumi Kawase
• 3D Character Design: Kei Yoshikuni
• 2D Character Design: Ako Nakazawa, Yuka Shiga
• Art Director: Kouki Nagayoshi
• Color Design: Hiroyasu Kanemitsu
• Director of Photography: Teppei Sato
• CG Director: Seiki Hayashi
• CG Production: LOGIC&MAGIC
• Action Coordination: Yasuhiro Roppongi
• Fighting Scene Advisor: Yoshihiro Kamegai
• Sound Director: Toru Nakano
• Music: Akihiro Manabe, Masahiro Tokuda, Yoshihei Ueda
• Animation Production: Bandai Namco Pictures