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Funimation Adds Barakamon, Sengoku Basara Judge End, Black Butler: Book of Circus
posted on by Karen Ressler
Funimation Entertainment announced at its Anime Expo panel on Saturday that it has acquired streaming and home video rights for Barakamon, Sengoku Basara Judge End, Black Butler: Book of Circus, Psycho-Pass 2, and the extended edition of Psycho-Pass. In addition, the company has also added the home video rights for the Psycho-Pass film.
Funimation describes Barakamon:
An aspiring artist's world is about to be turned upside down. Seishu exiles himself to a small island to rediscover his passion as a calligrapher after violently attacking one of his most vocal critics. While the Goto Islands appear to be a tranquil paradise on the surface, this young mapmaker soon learns that wacky neighbors and hyperactive children just might provide him the sense of humor he needs on his journey towards self-discovery.
Kinema Citrus (Yuyushiki, Code:Breaker) is producing Barakamon for Nippon TV. Masaki Tachibana (Tokyo Magnitude 8.0, The Legend of Heroes: Trails in The Sky) is directing the series off of Pierre Sugiura's (Yuyushiki, Bottom Biting Bug) scripts. Majiro (Nagareboshi Lens) is handling the character designs, and Kenji Kawai (Moribito - Guardian of the Spirit, Patlabor 2: The Movie) is handling the music.
The series stars Daisuke Ono (Noragami, Magi - The Kingdom of Magic, Attack on Titan) as Seishū Handa and child voice actress Suzuko Hara as 7-year-old Naru Kotoishi. Episode zero of the Mijikamon series, anime shorts inspired by Satsuki Yoshino's original Barakamon manga, began streaming on Thursday.
Funimation has yet to announce stream times. Crunchyroll will also stream the series as it airs.
Sengoku Basara Judge End will stream on Saturdays at 1:05 p.m. EDT. The series is based on CAPCOM's 2010 game Sengoku Basara 3 (Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes), and it will depict the epic Battle of Sekigahara. NTV's English website lists the anime as Sengoku Basara -Judgement- with 12 episodes.
Takashi Sano (animation director for Lupin III: Crisis in Tokyo, episode director for Blood+ and Blassreiter) is directing the series. Natsuko Takahashi (Moyashimon, Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan, Tokyo Magnitude 8.0) is handling the series composition. Michinori Chiba (Basilisk, Mobile Suit Gundam 00, Gundam AGE) is handling the character designs, and Yumenosuke Tokuda (Naruto Shippuden) and Toshimitsu Kobayashi (Spice and Wolf II, Senran Kagura, Fate/stay night) are serving as chief animation directors. CAPCOM's Hiroyuki Kobayashi and Makoto Yamamoto are credited with original concept supervision, and Telecom Animation Film is producing the animation.
The first episode of Black Butler: Book of Circus will launch on Thursday at 3:50 p.m. and stream weekly on Thursdays at 3:20 p.m. Funimation describes the series:
In Victorian London, the breathtaking performances of the Noah's Ark Circus have captured the attention of people all across the city. But the spell of magic and wonderment woven under the big top is not without consequences. Children have suddenly begun to vanish, and some suspect these mysterious performers are responsible. In an attempt to get to the bottom of these disturbing disappearances, the dashing duo of demon butler, Sebastian Michaelis, and his young master, Ciel Phantomhive, will infiltrate the circus and uncover whatever darkness may lie at its core!
Daisuki is also streaming the series as it airs.
Psycho-Pass 2 will premiere this fall and continue the story of the original Psycho Pass anime, which premiered on Fuji TV's late-night Noitamina programming block last year. Funimation streamed the 22-episode series as it aired and released the series on DVD.
The "new edit version" will take the first series and re-cut it into 11 one-hour episodes with new cuts of footage. Funimation will stream the first episode on Thursday at 1:40 and subsequent episodes every Thursday at 1:20.
Psycho-Pass takes place in the near future, when it is possible to instantaneously measure and quantify a person's state of mind and personality. This information is recorded and processed, and the term "Psycho->Pass" in the anime's title refers to a standard used to measure an individual's being. The story centers around the "enforcement officer" Shinya Kōgami (Tomokazu Seki) who is tasked with managing crime in such a world. Naoyoshi Shiotani (Blood+, Tokyo Marble Chocolate) directed the series, Gen Urobuchi (Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Fate/Zero) wrote and edited the scripts, and Akira Amano (Reborn!) designed the characters.
The film is slated to premiere in Japan this winter.
