News

Funimation Adds Hal, 009 Re:Cyborg Films

North American anime distributor Funimation announced on Thursday that it has acquired the rights to Wit Studio's Hal anime film and Kenji Kamiyama, Production I.G, and Sanzigen Animation Studio's 009 Re:Cyborg CG anime film. The company also announced it will stream the Hyperdimension Neptunia television anime series.

The "near-future romance" film Hal follows a girl named Kurumi (voiced by Yōko Hikasa) who lost Haru (Yoshimasa Hosoya), a boy she liked, in a plane accident. A robot "Robo Hal (Haru)" turns into her substitute for Haru.

Manga creator Io Sakisaka (Strobe Edge, Ao Haru Ride) created the original character designs, and Ryoutarou Makihara (storyboard and episode direction on Guilty Crown, The Tatami Galaxy) made his directorial debut with this film at Wit Studio (Attack on Titan). Izumi Kizara (live-action Sexy Voice and Robo, Q10) wrote the screenplay, which is not based on preexisting material.

Katsuhiko Kitada (Guilty Crown, Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos) was in charge of the character animation as chief animation director, and Asami Kiyokawa (Paradise Kiss) served as the visual art director. Michiru Oshima (Fullmetal Alchemist, Beck, Blast of Tempest) scored the music.

The film opened in Japan on June 8.

Kamiyama wrote and directed the action science-fiction film 009 Re:Cyborg inspired by Shotaro Ishinomori's original manga. The story begins in 2013 when skyscrapers in London, Moscow, Berlin, and New York are destroyed by simultaneous bombings. The indiscriminate terrorism by an unknown group with unknown motives sets off widespread panic throughout the world.

There was once a group of nine cyborg fighters who rescued humanity from threats, but they had disbanded to their home countries. Now the man who created them, Dr. Gilmore, has summoned and assembled them back together again. However, the 00 Number Cyborgs' former leader, a Japanese man named Joe Shimamura (Mamoru Miyano), is now living alone in Tokyo's Roppongi with his past memories erased. Kenji Kawai handled the music for the film, which opened in Japan in October 2012.

Hyperdimension Neptunia adapts Compile Heart's popular Chō Jigen Game Neptune (Hyperdimension Neptunia) role-playing games. Masahiro Mukai is directing at David Production, Shogo Yasukawa is in charge of the series scripts, and Hitomi Takechi is adapting Tsunako's designs for anime. nao is performing the opening theme song "Dimension tripper!!!!" and Afilia Saga is performing the ending theme "Neptune☆Sagashite."

The show will star Rie Tanaka as Neptune/Purple Heart, Asami Imai as Noire/Black Heart, Chiaki Takahashi as Magiquone(Arfoire), Eri Kitamura as Uni, Kana Asumi as Blanc/White Heart, and Kana Ueda as IF. The anime with an all-new story will premiere in Japan on July 12.

NIS America released the Hyperdimension Neptunia and Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2 games in North America, and it released Kami Jigen Game Neptune V as Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory in March. The first game anthropomorphizes the game console wars as female role-playing game characters.