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Isobe Isobee Monogatari Manga Inspires Stage Play, New Anime

This year's 48th issue of Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine will announce on Monday that Ryō Nakama's Isobe Isobee Monogatari ~Ukiyo wa Tsurai yo~ (Chronicle of Isobe -The Life Is Hard-) manga will get a new anime adaptation and a stage play adaptation.

The issue refers to the anime as a "mame anime" (bean anime) or "manime" for short. The issue explains that a "mame anime" is a short anime of approximately 30 seconds in length, and states: "You can start watching it from any episode. You'll probably even be able to watch it outside of your TV."

The issue also reveals the anime's cast:

Daiki Yamashita as Isobee Isobe
Ayumu Murase as Jun Nakajima
Chiaki Takahashi as Mother
Takashi Matsuyama as Gennai Hiraga
Raikō Sakamoto as Narrator

Additionally, the issue reveals that Mankyū (Tono to Issho, Fist of the North Star: Strawberry Flavor, Donyatsu, PUCHIM@S) is directing the anime. This year's Jump Special Anime Festa will show an advanced screening of the anime.

The stage play adaptation will premiere in spring 2016. Kenichi Suemitsu is writing the scripts and directing the play, and Shunsuke Wada is in charge of the music.

The cover of the same issue of Weekly Shonen Jump will also feature various protagonists from Shonen Jump drawn in the style of Isobe Isobee Monogatari ~Ukiyo wa Tsurai yo~.

The 47th issue of the magazine had teased on Monday that the next issue would have a "shocking" announcement.

Nakama originally published the manga as a one-shot, then he launched the serialized version of the manga in Weekly Shonen Jump in October 2013. Shueisha describes the manga as follows:

A loser samurai—Isobee, who lives in any way a dawdling, slacking life, takes action (sort of) in the city of Edo. Weekly Shonen Jump's gone mad with a new style Ukiyoe Gag Manga!!

Shueisha published the manga's eighth compiled volume on October 3.

The series inspired a four-episode series of online Flash anime shorts that premiered in December 2013.