News
Bean Bandit Episode 0 Anime Project Reveals Cast, More Staff
posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
Kenichi Sonoda launched a Campfire crowdfunding campaign in Japan on Sunday for his Bean Bandit episode 0 project. The campaign aims to fund opening and ending animation sequences for the project. The campaign's goal is 5 million yen (about US$45,548), and as of press time the campaign has raised 144,444 yen (about US$1,316). The campaign will end on February 24.
Staff will host an event for the crowdfunding project on February 1 at the LOFT/PLUS ONE event hall in Shinjuku.
The new campaign also revealed the anime's main cast and more staff. The cast includes:
Hidenori Takahashi as Bean Bandit
Ayaka Asai as Rally Vincent
Hiromi Igarashi as Minnie May
Eri Kitamura as Becky
Sonoda is credited with the original work, planning, and scenario, and is also credited as chief director and chief animation director. Yū Aoki (firearm animation director for Sword Art Online II, GATE both seasons) is directing the anime. Keizō Shimizu (Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Cobra The Animation) is the character designer, Shujirou Hamakawa is the animation supervisor, and Hisayoshi Hirasawa is the sound director.
A previous Kickstarter campaign for the project ran in May through June and raised 23,343,872 yen (about US$212,652 by today's conversion), surpassing the original 15 million yen goal. The initial goal of the project was to make a five-minute animation. The campaign had stretch goals to expand the runtime to 20 minutes (at US$380,000) or 45 minutes (at US$800,000), but did not reach those goals.
The animation will get a Blu-ray Disc release. Sonoda also said on the Kickstarter page that he wants to "bring Bean Bandit to the big screen, and even an animations series and movie." Sonoda will attend the Anime Central convention in Illinois from from May 17-19 to screen the world premiere of the episode.
Sonoda also plans to create an art book with concept art, designs, and, "if possible," an original color comic. All releases from the Kickstarter campaign be available in Japanese and English.
The project will meld elements of Riding Bean and Gunsmith Cats, and like these previous works it will take place in Chicago.
Sources: Bean Bandit Campfire campaign, Comic Natalie
