News

Crunchyroll to Stream Aooni The Blue Monster Anime

Crunchyroll announced on Thursday that it will stream Aooni The Blue Monster (Ao Oni: The Animation), a series of television anime shorts based on the horror game franchise Ao Oni. Crunchyroll's stream will begin on Sunday, October 2 at 3:15 p.m. EDT, and will be available worldwide outside of Asia.

Crunchyroll also announced the streaming details for its simulcast of Magical Girl Raising Project and the second half of Bungo Stray Dogs. The stream for Magical Girl Raising Project will begin on Saturday, October 1 at 12:15 p.m. EDT, and will be available worldwide except in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and North and South Korea. The stream for Bungo Stray Dogs will begin on October 5 at 1:35 p.m. EDT, and will be available worldwide except in Asia.

The Aooni The Blue Monster series of shorts will be a comedic take on the original story with the familiar characters drawn in super-deformed style. Crunchyroll describes the show:

On the outskirts of town stands an abandoned house where ghosts are rumored to appear. Hiroshi and his classmates Takuro, Takeshi, and Mika pay the house a visit, only to be attacked by a bizarre monster, the Blue Devil. Will Hiroshi and his friends succeed in answering riddles and escaping the house, or are they doomed to live hilarious lives forever with the Blue Devil in the haunted house?! The courage-testing life of these four friends begins with the Blue Devil who continues to entertain even after death.

The cast includes:

Ryota Ohsaka as Hiroshi, the rational protagonist who serves as the group's de facto leader

Takahiro Mizushima as Takurō, the life of the party and the group member who sets the mood

Eri Kitamura as Mika, the self-proclaimed heroine of the group (and arguably "the third cutest girl in class")

Shūta Morishima as Takeshi, the most easily scared in the group

Other characters in the series include:

Ao Oni, a blueberry-colored naked giant who appears in the uninhabited mansion on the outskirts of the town

Blockman Oni (Fuwatty), a "fast" oni

Toshirō Hamamura (3D director on Chivalry of a Failed Knight, Wake Up, Girls!) is serving as chief director alongside director Chisei Maeda (Wasimo's ending animation) at Studio Deen (When They Cry - Higurashi, Hell Girl). The artist kichi is adapting the original character designs by Kyuta Sakai (Steins;Gate, When They Cry - Higurashi) for animation. Kanekoke is supervising and writing the series scripts. The animation is credited to maxcaffy, Kagi, Poeyama, and Sena Makino. Shiyu Yanagida is composing the music, and Dax Production is producing the sound.

The games are inspiring an anime film in 2017 that is also titled Ao Oni: The Animation. The film will be closer to the traditional mystery horror of the original game, although it will have a new story that is different from the original game, novelization, and live-action films. Studio Deen is also animating the film.

Ao Oni is a horror game that makes the player solve various puzzles and riddles in order to escape a demon in a locked or enclosed space. The game first debuted as a free game released online in 2004. The game is available to play in both Japanese and English. Publisher PHP Institute released a novel inspired by the game in Japan in February 2013. The franchise also inspired two live-action films in July 2014 and July 2015.