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Crunchyroll to Stream Rinshii!! Ekodachan, My Roommate is a Cat, Rainy Cocoa SideG Anime (Update)

Crunchyroll announced on Monday that it will stream the Rinshii!! Ekodachan, My Roommate is a Cat, and Rainy Cocoa SideG anime as they air in Japan this winter.

The television anime adaptation of Yukari Takinami's Rinshi!! Ekoda-chan four-panel comedy manga will premiere on January 8 at 1:30 p.m. EST worldwide outside of Asia.

The anime will be made in an omnibus format, with each episode having a different director, character designer, voice actors, and animation studio. Crunchyroll describes the story:

Ekoda-chan is from the countryside, living alone in the city. She's a temp worker and a strong, carefree soul, with no solid plan for the future, who doesn't care much about guys. She talks about how she lives her life and provides support to all those women trying to survive in the real life society.

The directors participating in the anime include, in no particular order:

• Gisaburō Sugii (Touch, Arashi no Yoru ni, Night on the Galactic Railroad)
• Ryousuke Takahashi (Votoms, Dougram, FLAG)
• Akitarō Daichi (Kodocha, Fruits Basket)
• Tomomi Mochizuki (Twin Spica, Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou: Quiet Country Cafe)
• Shin Misawa (Capeta)
• Takeo Takahashi (Spice and Wolf, Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers)
• Yoshitomo Yonetani (Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma)
• Osamu Kobayashi (BECK)
• Masayuki Kojima (Made in Abyss, Monster)
• Akira Shigino (Osomatsu-kun)
• Hiroshi Nagahama (Mushi-Shi)
• Kōji Morimoto (Magnetic Rose, Dimension Bomb)

The manga ran in Kodansha's Afternoon magazine from 2005 to 2014, and Kodansha published eight compiled book volumes for the manga. It previously inspired a 2011 television anime.

My Roommate is a Cat (Dōkyonin wa Hiza, Tokidoki, Atama no Ue. or "My Housemate Is on My Lap, But Sometimes on My Head") is an anime adaptation of Minatsuki and As Futatsuya's manga. It will premiere on Crunchyroll on January 9 at 12:00 p.m. EST. Crunchyroll has not yet announced the regions.

Crunchyroll describes the story:

The story of Mikazuki Subaru, a novelist who is shy and struggles in relationships with other people, and a cat who was dumped by humans and lived a tough life on the streets. Through a twist of fate, the two of them end up living together. This heartwarming tale illustrates day-to-day life through the eyes of both man and cat. These moments seem trivial, but as they build upon themselves, the two become family and find happiness in their life together.

Kaoru Suzuki (Pupipō!, DIVE!!) is directing the anime at Zero-G. Deko Akao (Flying Witch, Amanchu!, Noragami) is in charge of series composition. Masaru Kitao (Death Note, Dances with the Dragons) is designing the characters. Kotoringo (In This Corner of the World) is composing the music. Iori Kanzaki's musical unit Schrödinger's Cat adding kotringo will perform the opening song "Unknown World," and Yoshino Nanjō will perform the ending theme song "Kimi no Tonari Watashi no Basho" (My Place Next to You). The anime will have 12 episodes. As with the manga, each episode of the anime will have both a "Subaru" and "Haru" chapter that will tackle the story from the point of view of both characters.

Rainy Cocoa side G will premiere on Crunchyroll on January 8 at 1:00 p.m. EST. The stream will be available worldwide outside of China, Hong Kong, Japan, Macao, and Taiwan.

Unlike the previous seasons, the Rainy Cocoa side G season will feature female main characters. Yōko, the daughter of the Rainy Color cafe's owner Kōji Amami, takes over as the acting manager of the cafe.

Crunchyroll describes the story:

It's a peaceful day like any other in the cafe Rainy Color. Suddenly, the silence is broken when a girl kicks down the door. Her name is Amami Yoko, and she's the daughter of the cafe's owner, Amami Koji. "At least keep your promise, you old bastard!" The target of her ire and the cause of all the ruckus is Amami Koji himself. When she learns that not only did he blow off their trip, he's also planning to go to Hawaii by himself, Yoko's rage only grows. Just then, she catches sight of Rainy Color's mascot dog, Rain, and freezes. It turns out that she's afraid of dogs! She immediately panics and starts to run away, but she ends up heading for the suitcase Koji's packing and...Crash! She trips over the suitcase, topples over, and shatters a vase that Koji was keeping nearby. As punishment for breaking the vase, Yoko is forced to stand in as Rainy Color's manager for summer vacation. A heartwarming and relaxing story depicting Yoko's struggles, as well as what people can do for others, is about to begin!

The main cast stars Eriko Matsui as Yōko Amami and Aina Suzuki as Meru Kashiwagi. The other cast members include Miharu Hanai, Chiaki Omigawa, Nichika Omori, Natsuko Hara, Marina Yamada, and Ryō Horikawa (the voice of Kōji Amami in the previous seasons). Rika Tachibana will perform the theme song "Colorful Passage" and will also voice the café's mascot-like character Rain.

The original story is again credited to IAM Denshi Shuppan. EMT Squared is returning to produce the animation, and Team side G is presenting the project.

Source: Email correspondence

Update: Subtitled My Roommate is a Cat video added.