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Funimation Adds Ping Pong, Tokyo Ravens, Puchimas Home Video Rights

posted on by Lynzee Loveridge
Funimation previously streamed all 3 series as they aired in Japan

North American anime distributor FUNimation Entertainment announced on Saturday that it added the home video rights for Masaaki Yuasa's Ping Pong, Takaomi Kanasaki's Tokyo Ravens and the Puchimas spinoff anime series. Funimation previously streamed all three series as they aired in Japan.

Ping Pong is the 11-episode anime adaptation of Taiyo Matsumoto's manga by the same name. Funimation describes the story:

Despite having drastically different personalities, high school boys Peco and Smile have been friends since childhood. Now, they're both talented members of a table tennis club—but what happens when these sports lovers have to go up against each other in tournaments? Prepare for truly epic matches in this new series from the director of The Tatami Galaxy!

Masaaki Yuasa (Mind Game, The Tatami Galaxy, Kick-Heart) is directed the television anime at Tatsunoko Productions. Nobutake Ito is designed the characters, while kensuke ushio composed the soundtrack. Kunio Tsujita served as the color key artist, and Kevin Aymeric was the art director. The staff also includes Shunsuke Nakamura as director of photography, Kashiko Kimura as editor, and Eriko Kimura as sound director. The band merengue performed the series' ending theme.

Funimation will release the series Blu-ray and DVD in summer 2015 with an English dub and the original Japanese voice track.

The anime of Kōhei Azano's Tokyo Ravens school supernatural fantasy light novel series centers around Harutora, a boy from a branch of the Tsuchimikado family of onmyōdō occult practitioners. However, he lacks the ability to see spirit energy, so he is now just an ordinary high school student. Natsume, a girl who was Harutora's childhood friend and the next head of the Tsuchimikado family, reunites with Harutora and changes his future.

Takaomi Kanasaki (Is This a Zombie?, School Rumble: 2nd Semester) directed the series at 8-Bit with series composition by Hideyuki Kurata (Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maidens, Oreimo, The World God Only Knows). Katsuko Watanabe (The Everyday Tales of a Cat God, Place to Place, Juden Chan) served as character designer.

Funimation will release the first part of the series on Blu-ray and DVD on March 17, 2015. Part two will follow in summer 2015. Funimation will announce the English dub cast for the series at Ikkicon in Austin, Texas in January with an English dub premiere scheduled for Otakon during the January 16-18 weekend

The Puchimas! -Petit Idolm@ster- net anime is a series of two-minute shorts adapted from Akane's four-panel manga series. The show depicts the overly hyper daily life of The IDOLM@STER's 765Pro idols — and mysterious creatures named "Puchidoru" who somewhat resemble the idols. Mankyū (Tono to Issho, Kakko-Kawaii Sengen!, 30-sai no Hoken Taiiku) directed both seasons at the studio Gathering, and Sao Tamado (30-sai no Hoken Taiiku) designed the characters.

Funimation's release will include the original video anime and director's cut version of the series. The series will be released on DVD only and without an English dub. The first season is scheduled for next year. Funimation will announce a release date for the second season in the future.

Release details added


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