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Crunchyroll to Stream Woodpecker Detective's Office Anime in Spring 2020

Crunchyroll announced at its panel at New York Comic Con on Friday that it will begin streaming the television anime adaptation of Kei Ii's Woodpecker Detective's Office (Kitsutsuki Tantei-Dokoro) mystery novel in spring 2020. The anime is a Crunchyroll co-production.

Crunchyroll also announced that it and Fathom Events have added an additional screening on November 14 for KONOSUBA - God's Blessing on This Wonderful World– Legend of Crimson (Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku o! Kurenai Densetsu), the anime film based on Natsume Akatsuki's KONOSUBA - God's blessing on this wonderful world! light novel series, as part of the Crunchyroll Movie Night events. Tickets will go on sale on October 18.

Crunchyroll describes Woodpecker Detective's Office:

It is the end of the Meiji Era.

The genius poet Ishikawa Takuboku, who's struggling financially, starts a detective business out of his lodging in response to a certain murder case.

He calls it the Woodpecker Detective's Office.

“The ghosts of the Twelve-Story Tower in Asakusa,” “the man-eating figure who wanders the streets on snowy nights”...

Takuboku involves himself in one bizarre case after another with his hometown acquaintance, Kindaichi Kyosuke, as his assistant.

Other literary men such as Nomura Kodo, Yoshii Isamu, Hagiwara Sakutaro, and Wakayama Bokusui are also dragged into Takuboku's exploits as he races all around Tokyo at the height of Westernization!

The anime will premiere in spring 2020 and will air on Tokyo MX, BS-Fuji, and CS Family Gekijō.

The anime will star Shintarō Asanuma as Takuboku Ishikawa and Takahiro Sakurai as Kyōsuke Kindaichi. The anime will also star Kenjiro Tsuda, Rikiya Hayashi, and Hayato Furusawa. Hayashi and Furusawa won the second audition round for male voice actors for the Kimikoe Project in January.

Shinpei Ezaki (Monster Strike The Movie, Hanebad!, Gunslinger Stratos: The Animation) is chief director of the anime at Liden Films, and Tomoe Makino (episode director for Tsuredure Children, Shōwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjū, Haven't You Heard? I'm Sakamoto) is the director. Liden Films is also credited with production alongside Tôhoku Shinsha. Taku Kishimoto (91 Days, Silver Spoon, Haikyu!! three seasons) is overseeing the series scripts. Shuichi Hara (Lost Song, Alice in the Country of Hearts: Wonderful Wonder World) is designing the characters based on manga creator Kaoru Saki's original designs. MONACA (Death March to The Parallel World Rhapsody, Love Tyrant) is composing the music.

Kei Ii published the novel's first edition in the regular tankōbon format through Tokyo Sogensha in 1999. Tokyo Sogensha re-released the novel in the smaller bunko format in 2008.

The KONOSUBA - God's Blessing on This Wonderful World– Legend of Crimson film will debut in over 600 theaters in the United States on November 12 at 7:00 p.m. local time. Crunchyroll describes the film:

A video game-loving shut-in, Satou Kazuma's life should've ended when he was hit by a truck, but through a twist of fate, he ends up reincarnating in another world--and dragging the troublemaking goddess, Aqua, the wildly dorky mage, Megumin, and the unrelentingly delusional lady knight, Darkness, with him.

Now, the Crimson Demon village that Megumin and Yunyun are from is facing a threat that could mean it's ending. Kazuma and his gang follow Yunyun, who returns to the Crimson Demon village intent on saving it... when they are faced with their greatest threat yet! What will become of the unremarkable adventurer Kazuma's life in another world?!

The film opened in Japan on August 30, and ranked at #8 in its debut weekend. The film had earned 510,601,900 yen (about US$4.72 million) as of September 15. The movie's 4DX screenings in Japan began on Friday.

Takaomi Kanasaki returned from the previous two anime seasons to direct the film at J.C. Staff (Studio DEEN animated the two TV anime series). Makoto Uezu returned to write the scripts, Koichi Kikuta returned to adapt Kurone Mishima's original character designs for animation, and Masato Kōda returned to compose the music. Machico returned to perform the film's theme song. Ai Kayano, Rie Takahashi, and Sora Amamiya also returned to perform the ending song for the film as their respective characters. The film features a returning cast.

The original light novels inspired two television anime seasons. The first season premiered in January 2016, and the second season premiered in January 2017. Crunchyroll streamed both seasons as they aired in Japan, and debuted an English dub for the first season on January 15.

Yen Press is releasing the original light novels and Masahito Watari's manga adaptation in English. The company has also licensed the Konosuba: An Explosion on This Wonderful World! spinoff novel series.

Source: Email correspondence