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Magica Madoka, Fate/Zero and New Ultraman Series Released on Netflix

Netflix has released the following anime series: the original 2011 TV series Puella Magi Madoka Magica here (12 episodes); Fate/Zero here (two seasons of 12 episodes each); and the new CG version of The Ultraman here (13 episodes).

All three titles are available in both Japanese and English.

In Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Madoka Kaname, a kind 14-year-old girl, encounters a magical creature named Kyube. Madoka and her friend Sayaka Miki are offered the opportunity of gaining magical powers if they agree to make a contract with the strange little being. He will also grant them one wish, but in exchange they shall risk their lives by accepting the responsibility of fighting witches.

The series featured director Akiyuki Shinbo (Bakemonogatari, Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei, Hidamari Sketch, Arakawa Under the Bridge), series script supervisor Gen Urobuchi (Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~, Blassreiter, Fate/Zero) of Nitroplus, original character designer Ume Aoki (Hidamari Sketch), animation character designer Takahiro Kishida (Durarara!!, Serial Experiments Lain), and musical composer Yuki Kajiura (Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE, .hack, Noir, Kara no Kyoukai).

Fate/Zero takes place 10 years prior to Fate/stay night. It concerns the Holy Grail Wars, contests where seven mages compete to obtain the Holy Grail, an artifact of immense power that can grant a miracle. The anime adapts the prequel novel by Gen Urobuchi (Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Phantom - The Animation, Blassreiter) to Type Moon's Fate/stay night visual novel software. Ei Aoki (Hourou Musuko, Ga-Rei: Zero, Girls Bravo) directed the series at anime studio ufotable and Tomonori Sudō (Coyote Ragtime Show, Kara no Kyōkai - the Garden of sinners).

The Ultraman series is a worldwide simultaneous premiere; it is directed by Kenji Kamiyama (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Eden of the East, Napping Princess) and Shinji Aramaki (Appleseed, Harlock: Space Pirate, Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars). Production I.G (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Eden of the East, Napping Princess) and Sola Digital Arts (Appleseed Alpha, Starship Troopers: Invasion, Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars) produced the anime in 3D CG. Viz Media, which publishes The Ultraman manga in North America, describes the story:

Decades ago, a being known as the Giant of Light joined Shin Hayata of the Scientific Special Search Party to save Earth from an invasion of terrifying monsters known as Kaiju. Now, many years later, those dark days are fading into memory, and the world is at peace. But in the shadows a new threat is growing, a danger that can only be faced by a new kind of hero - a new kind of Ultraman...

Shinjiro is an ordinary teenager, but his father is the legendary Shin Hayata. When he learns that his father passed on the "Ultraman Factor" to him, and that he possesses incredible powers, nothing will ever be the same again.

Via Anime UK News