As we are approaching the new season, a slew of anime announcements are made a few weeks before the season commences. It’s odd that many of the announcements are only weeks away and can be quite sudden. Though not all are announced for the upcoming season and many of these are adaptations; anime based on manga, light novels, visual novels or any other existing material. In the spirit of things, note that all information presented here is not final and can be subject to change.
Let us start off this round up with some light novel anime announcements from publisher Media Factory, at the Media Factory’s Summer School Festival 2013 event last month.
Madan no Ou to Vanadis
Madan no Ou to Vanadis is a light novel series by Tsukasa Kawaguchi, which started being produced in April 2011. The art and designs of the characters are drawn by Yoshi?yo. The series is published by Media Factory, which released the seventh volume of Madan no Ou to Vanadis last month. A manga adaptation by Kawaguchi and Nobuhiko Yanai was also released in late 2011. There has been no information regarding the studio producing the anime.
Here is a synopsis of the seres from MAL:
Set in Western Europe during times of war, Eleanor “Ellen” Vertalia, one of the Vanadis of Zhcted, leads the battle into Brune. There are, in fact, seven Vanadis, named for having each received a powerful weapon from the dragon to individually reign over seven territories. The power of the Vanadis invokes dread and fear from their enemies. An earl in the service of the country of Brune, a young archer by the name of Tigre, experienced the Vandis’s power firsthand after being defeated on the battlefield by Ellen. However, Ellen chose to spare his life after witnessing his skills, but in exchange, he is asked to serve her.
Mahou Sensou
The light novel series Mahou Sensou will be getting an anime adaptation. First released in November 2011 by Media Factory, the series has continued strong and has six volumes published. The series is written by Hisashi Suzuki and the art and characters designed by Lia Luna. A manga alternative started serialisation in April this year from Suzuki himself with the art being done by You Ibuki. No confirmation on the production studio, but the series is set to air in January next year.
A synopsis of the upcoming anime from MAL:
In this modern magic action story, Takeshi Nanase is an ordinary high school boy who has a somewhat dark past. Due to certain circumstances, he formed a “fake” couple with his childhood friend Kurumi Isoshima, but otherwise, he lives a normal life. However, one day, he comes across a girl named Mui Aiba, in a uniform he has never seen before, collapsed on the school campus. This encounters changes Takeshi’s destiny completely. Mui tells Takeshi that she is a magician, and she apologizes, for she turned Takeshi into a magician, too. What Takeshi once knew as one world is actually two — the world where magicians live and the world where humans live.
Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance
Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance is a light novel series by Yuu Shimizu and illustrated by Hanpen Sakura. The light novels started being published by Media Factory in late December 2010. The series published its eleventh volume last month, and had two manga adaptations: one being drawn by Issei Hyouju, known for the art of the manga series MM!, releasing last June, and the other drawn by Zenzai Yoshihira that was serialised from June 2011 till January 2012. The anime adaptation is set to air early 2014 with no current mention of the studio behind that adaptation.
A synopsis of the series from MAL:
Only a pure maiden can have the privilege to contract with a spirit. In here, Areishia Spirit Academy, trained maidens of noble families are gathered and given an elite’s education to become spirit contractors. A boy, Kamito, peeped by accident at a girl, Clair, while she was taking a bath and he ended up making a contract with the spirit she wanted. Yes, Kamito is an irregular boy spirit contractor whose existence was thought impossible until now. “You stole…my spirit…you have to take responsibility for it!” “Huh?” “You have to become my contracted spirit!” What will Kamito’s destiny lead to?
No Game No Life
No Game No Life is a light novel series that started in early April last year. Written and drawn by Yuu Kamiya the light novel series has just released its fourth volume last month. A manga adaptation was also released alongside the novels, being drawn by Mashiro Hiiragi and started serialisation earlier this year. The art style of the series is certainly vibrant and colourful, and is unknown which studio will translate this style onto the television. The series is set to air early-mid 2014.
The synopsis of No Game No Life from MAL:
The internet is full of rumors about the Neet and Hikikomori genius gamer siblings Sora and Shiro. The two go as far as to refer to the world as a “shit game”, but then one day a young man calling himself “God” summons them to a parallel universe. There, God has forbidden war, and “everything is to be settled with games”. Yes, even the national borders. Driven into a corner by other species, the ‘human species’ is down to its last city. Can Sora and Shiro, these related failures of society, become the saviors of humankind in this parallel world?
Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi
Shiki Mizuchi’s light novel series Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi will be getting an anime adaptation next year. The light novel series started in late June 2010 and has recently released its thirteenth volume. The novels are illustrated by Kohada Shimesaba, who has just recently worked on Boku no Heroine wa Te ni Oenai. A manga series based on the light novel was also started in July 2011 and is drawn by Ran. The series has a tendency to be more adult oriented, that is it is ecchi – along with the above adaptations. Confirmation on the producing studio and release date has not been confirmed yet, but expect it to air mid next year.
Here is a synopsis of the series from MAL:
Ansarivan dragon knight acadamy is for boys and girls who had made a contract with dragons and teaches students how to raise them. Ash Blake has a particular Seikokuon on his hand, a proof of being a contractor, but he didn’t had any dragons for his partner. After an incident the boy’s dragon finally hatches. However, the dragon that appeared was different from other dragon. It wasn’t in a form of dragon but had a form of a girl.
Wizard Barristers: Benmashi Cecil
Wizard Barristers: Benmashi Cecil is a new original anime from director Umetsu Yasunomi, who has worked on numerous anime such as Beelzebub and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. The series will be produced by Arms, who are known for producing Elfen Lied and Maoyuu Maou Yuusha. Not much else is currently known about the anime, including the plot, cast and crew. The series has been stated to air in early 2014, and an official website of the show has been launched http://wizardbarristers.com/. The site also shows the only promotional art for the series, which can be seen above.
Space?Dandy
Space Dandy, or Space?Dandy if you want to be cool, is a new original anime to be produced by BONES and directed by Shinichiro Watanabe, the director of Sunrise’s Cowboy Bebop. The series will be a Sci-Fi comedy that has a heavy influence from old anime of the like from the 1970s. A few of the crew has already been revealed:
- Shinichiro Watanabe will be the general director,
- Series director will be Shingo Natsume (Hori-san to Miyamura-kun)
- Scriptwriters will be Dai Sato (Samurai Champloo), Keiko Nobumoto (Cowboy Bebop), and Kimiko Ueno (Gokyoudai Monogatari)
- The characers will be designed by Yoshiyuki Ito (Fullmetal Alchemist)
- Thomas Romain (AKB0048) will be exclusively designing the Spaceships
- And the opening theme song, Viva Namida, and ending theme song, Healthy Merci will be sung by Yasuyuki Okamura (City Hunter 2)
The series is expected to air in January 2014.
The lead character Dandy is an alien hunter and the “dandiest man in space.” The anime is set far in the future where people have gone to the far reaches of the universe. Dandy is searching for aliens that no one has found before with his robot partner QT.
Donten ni Warau
The manga series Donten ni Warau will be getting an anime adaptation, announced in last month’s issue of Comic Avarus magazine. The series is created by Kemuri Karakara and started serialisation in October 2010 and ended in May this year, accumulating 6 volumes. The series is a Shoujo manga that deals with supernatural themes in the historical Meiji Era of Japan. No further information about the anime adaptation has been released so far, but it is expected to air mid 2014.
Here is a plot synopsis from MAL:
In the eleventh year of the Meiji era carrying swords was forbidden by the government and those known as samurai were slowly fading away. However, there were plenty who didn’t like those changes taking place in Japan and inevitably the crime rates increased. The country’s only solution was an inescapable lake prison. Since the prison had no other way to access it except by water, the three boys of the Kumo family were assigned to transport the criminals to their new “home”. Although, is that the only thing they were doing?…
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Source Article #3 – Anime News Network
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“Madan no Ou to Vanadis”, “Mahou Sensou”, “Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance”, “No Game No Life”, “Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi”, images, videos and all associated brands and titles © 2013 Media Factory, Inc.
“Wizard Barristers: Benmashi Cecil”, image, video and all associated brand and titles © 2013 Arms Corporation
“Space?Dandy”, image, video and all associated brands and titles © 2013 BONES
“Donten ni Warau”, image and all associated brands and titles © 2013 Mag Garden