Noli and Fili, but isekai: 'Maria Clara at Ibarra' hopes to make history fun for young audiences

Noli and Fili, but make it isekai—that's the concept of "Maria Clara at Ibarra," GMA-7's upcoming series on Dr. Jose Rizal's important novels.

For the uninitiated, isekai is a genre of Japanese anime, manga, and light novels in which a character gets transported in a different world.

This is the premise of "Maria Clara at Ibarra." Klay (played by Barbie Forteza), a Gen Z student, somehow gets into the world of "Noli Me Tangere" and "El Filibusterismo" and learns more about history in the process.

"We want especially the young ones to really appreciate it and the lessons these two books taught us. But we will make it fun for them," said Lilybeth Rasonable, GMA Network SVP for Entertainment Group.

"We will make learning history fun for everybody especially for our young audience," she added in Nelson Canlas' report on "24 Oras," Friday.

Aside from Barbie, "Maria Clara at Ibarra" stars Julie Anne San Jose as Maria Clara, Dennis Trillo as Ibarra, Andrea Torres as Sisa, and Tirso Cruz III as Padre Damaso.

Other cast members include Juan Rodrigo as Kapitan Tiago, Rocco Nacino as Elias, Juancho Triviño as Padre Salvi, Ces Quesada as Tiya Isabel, and Gilleth Sandico as Donya Victorina.

"Maria Clara at Ibarra" will premiere on October 3 after "24 Oras."

—MGP, GMA News