HIDIVE FALLS FOR SCI-FI ROM-COM “LOVE FLOPS”
HIDIVE announced that it acquired exclusive rights to LOVE FLOPS, an original, genre blending sci-fi rom-com series from KADOKAWA, the creative force behind hit titles such as MADE IN ABYSS and No Game, No Life. The series will premiere exclusively on HIDIVE this fall.
Asahi Kashiwagi lives the typical life of an average high school student — until the day a TV fortune teller’s predictions come true one after another, culminating in a series of risqué encounters! Destiny seemingly draws five beautiful girls into Asahi’s path, and soon he finds himself fielding not one, not two, but five love confessions. Asahi will need to follow his heart to find the perfect love for him, or else his love fortunes may end in one epic flail and flop.
LOVE FLOPS has been adapted into a manga series illustrated by artist Ryudai Ishizaka, and it is currently serialized in Hakusensha’s Young Animal magazine. The series stars Ryota Osaka (Nariyuki Yuiga in We Never Learn: BOKUBEN) as Asahi Kashiwagi, Miku Ito (Miku Nakano in The Quintessential Quintuplets) as Aoi Izumisawa, Ayana Taketatsu (Kotori Itsuka in Date A Live) as Amelia Irving, Rie Takahashi (Takagi in Teasing Master Takagi-san3) as Ilya Ilyukhin, Hisako Kanemoto (Erina Nakiri in Food Wars!) as Bai Mongfa, Marika Kohno (Petra Leyte in Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World) as Karin Istel, and Jun Fukuyama (Lelouch Lamperouge in Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion) as Yoshio Ijūin.
The future home video release of LOVE FLOPS will be distributed by and available from Sentai.
HIDIVE ACQUIRES “MANAGEMENT OF A NOVICE ALCHEMIST” FOR FALL 2022
HIDIVE announced that it acquired exclusive rights to Management of a Novice Alchemist, the heartfelt fantasy anime series based on the light novel of the same name by Mizuho Itsuki. The series will premiere exclusively on HIDIVE this fall.
Orphaned Sarasa just graduated from the Royal Alchemist Academy, and that means her longed-for life of elegance and riches is close at hand! As a graduation gift, her teacher gifts her a house to set up shop — but Sarasa’s dilapidated new digs are beyond far-flung. What’s a novice alchemist to do when they’re stuck in the middle of nowhere with a business to run and supplies to gather from a very dangerous natural world? Whether it’s facing down frightening fantasy creatures or finding creative ways to attract customers, Sarasa has her work cut out for her as she achieves her dream of becoming the greatest alchemist around!
Studio ENGI (A Certain Scientific Railgun T) handles animation production for this charming series. The series is directed Hiroshi Ikehata (episode director in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood) with series composition from Shigeru Murakoshi (I’m Quitting Heroing, Zombie Land Saga). Yosuke Ito (The Detective is Already Dead, Key Animation for Pokémon XY) provides character design and serves as chief animation director.
The series stars Kanon Takao (Yuri in Encouragement of Climb Season 3) as Sarasa Feed, Hina Kino (Kaede Kurushima in Steins;Gate 0) as Lorea, Saori Ōnishi (Aiz Wallenstein in Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?) as Iris Lotze and Nanaka Suwa (Yui in BOFURI: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense.) as Kate Starven.
The future home video release of Management of a Novice Alchemist will be distributed by and available from Sentai.
HIDIVE ACQUIRES “MY MASTER HAS NO TAIL”
HIDIVE announced that it acquired exclusive rights to My Master Has No Tail, the anime adaptation of the manga serialized in Kodansha’s good! Afternoon magazine. The series will premiere exclusively on HIDIVE this fall.
Throughout time, supernatural, shapeshifting tanuki loved playing tricks on humankind. One plucky tanuki, Mameda, is no different. But there’s one big problem. She wasn’t born in the days of yore — she was born in modern, more cynical times! How can she fulfill her mischievous tanuki destiny when supernatural hijinks are a thing of the past? She finds an angle when she meets Bunko, a master of the Japanese art of rakugo, which uses storytelling to beguile its audience. Mameda is determined to use rakugo to cast a spell on humanity, but first this tanuki trickster must convince the no-nonsense Bunko to take her on as an apprentice.
The colorful world of My Master Has No Tail has been brought to life by animation studio LIDENFILMS (Call of the Night). It is directed by Hideyo Yamamoto (Cells at Work Code Black) with series composition from Touko Machida (Lucky Star). The series stars Hibiku Yamamura (Nanami Kuon in Ya Boy Kongming!) as Bunko and M.A.O (Yukari in Teasing Master Takagi-san) as Mameda.
The future home video release of My Master Has No Tail will be distributed by and available from Sentai.
HIDIVE ACQUIRES “ENCOURAGEMENT OF CLIMB: NEXT SUMMIT”
HIDIVE announced that it acquired exclusive rights to Encouragement of Climb: Next Summit, a new adaptation of the mountaineering manga of the same name in Comic Earth Star magazine. The series will premiere exclusively on HIDIVE this fall.
Aoi Yukimura’s fear of heights won’t hold her back in the next adaptation of Encouragement of Climb! Joined by fellow mountaineering enthusiasts, including the spirited Hinata Kuraue and the other climbers they’ve met on their journey to great heights, Aoi and friends tackle tough challenges and conquer new summits while they embark on adventures throughout the mountain ranges of Japan. Fans new to the franchise will get to know the world of Encouragement of Climb via a selection of compilation episodes that reintroduce fan-favorite characters and beloved moments from the series. Later episodes contain all-new stories that continue the tale of Aoi and her ambition to overcome her fears and achieve her dreams.
Staff and cast from past adaptations of this charming series have reprised their roles, including studio 8bit (That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime) and returning director Yusuke Yamamoto (Welcome to the N.H.K.). Yusuke Matsuo (The IDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls) provides character design. The series stars Yuka Iguchi (Mako Reizei in Girls und Panzer) as Aoi Yukimura, Kana Asumi (Komari Koshigaya in Non Non Biyori) as Hinata Karaue, Yoko Hikasa (Mio Akiyama in K-ON!) as Kaede Saito, Yui Ogura (Kokoro in The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated!) as Kokona Aoba, Nao Toyama (Rin Shima in Laid-Back Camp) as Honoka Kurosaki and Emiri Iwai (Mei-Mei Xiang in Sword Art Online: Alicization – War of Underworld Part 2) as Koharu.
The future home video release of Encouragement of Climb: Next Summit will be distributed by and available from Sentai.
“AKIBA MAID WAR” HEADING TO HIDIVE
HIDIVE announced that it will debut Akiba Maid War, an original anime project from P.A. Works (Ya Boy Kongming!) and Cygames (Zombie Land Saga), in October as part of its Fall 2022 simulcast lineup.
Akihabara is the center of the universe for the coolest hobbies and quirkiest amusements. In the spring of 1999, bright-eyed Nagomi Wahira moves there with dreams of joining a maid café. She quickly dons an apron at café Ton Tokoton, AKA the Pig Hut. But adjusting to life in bustling Akihabara isn’t as easy as serving tea and delighting customers. Paired with the dour Ranko who never seems to smile, Nagomi must do her best to elevate the Pig Hut over all other maid cafés vying for top ranking. Along the way she’ll slice out a place for herself amid the frills and thrills of life at the Pig Hut. Just when Nagomi’s dreams are within her grasp, she discovers not everything is as it seems amid the maid cafés of Akihabara.
Masui Soichi (Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai) directs the series while Nii Manabu (Kakegurui Twin, The Day I Became a God) serves as both the chief animation director and character designer. Akiba Maid War also stars Kondo Reina (Eta in The Eminence in Shadow and Ryo Shinonome in Cinderella Nine) as Nagomi Wahira and Sato Rina (Senjumaru Shutara in Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War and Kaede Kagayama in Non Biyori) as Ranko Mannen.
The future home video release for Akiba Maid War will be distributed by and available from Sentai.
HIDIVE TO STREAM “BIBLIOPHILE PRINCESS” EXCLUSIVELY THIS FALL
HIDIVE announced that it acquired exclusive rights to Bibliophile Princess, the arresting historical drama anime based upon the light novel and manga of the same name. The series will premiere exclusively on HIDIVE during the Fall 2022 season.
Known as the Bibliophile Princess for her unquenchable love of books, Lady Eliana Bernstein wants nothing more than to shirk social duties in favor of retreating to the library. So, when the handsome Crown Prince Christopher promises to shield her from high-society drudgery in exchange for pretending to be his fiancée, she jumps at the chance to hide behind their sham relationship and read to her heart’s content (especially since he’s offered her access to the palace library). But much like the plot of her favorite novel, soon Eli’s feelings for the prince develop in unexpected ways, and she realizes she can’t always judge a royal book by its cover.
Bibliophile Princess is produced by studio Madhouse (NANA, Death Note) and is directed by Taro Iwasaki (One Week Friends) with series composition from Mitsutaka Hirota (Rent-A-Girlfriend). Mizuka Takahashi (sub-character design in Overlord III) provides character design. Reina Ueda (Kanao Tsuyuri in Demon Slayer) stars as Lady Eliana Bernstein alongside Ryohei Kimura (Hirotaka Wakamatsu in Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun) as Prince Christopher.
The future home video release of Bibliophile Princess will be distributed by and available from Sentai.
“URUSEI YATSURA” AND THE ICONIC INVADER GIRL LUM TO LAND ON HIDIVE THIS FALL
HIDIVE announced its acquisition of Urusei Yatsura, the highly anticipated, new TV series based on the best-selling manga of the same name by legendary mangaka Rumiko Takahashi, the renowned creator of Inuyasha, Ranma ½ and Maison Ikkoku. A new adaptation of the beloved classic series, Urusei Yatsura features the instantly recognizable and utterly iconic character Invader Girl Lum and will premiere on HIDIVE during the Fall 2022 simulcast season.
When an alien race known as the Oni invade Earth, the chronically unlucky and unapologetically lecherous Ataru Moroboshi is selected as humanity’s representative in a duel for the fate of the planet! His opponent is Lum, the Oni’s very pretty princess, and it’s only thanks to Ataru’s unscrupulous behavior that he’s able to scrape out a win in a treacherous game of tag against her. Ataru thinks he’s had his lucky break at last, but when Lum takes a shine to him off the battlefield, the conflict follows him home as Lum invades not only planet Earth, but also the womanizing Ataru’s love life!
Animated by David Production (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind, Cells at Work, Fire Force), Urusei Yatsura is directed by Hideya Takahashi (director of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind) and Yasuhiro Kimura (director of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind) and written by Yuko Kakihara (scriptwriter for Cells at Work! and Kids on the Slope).
The series will star Sumire Uesaka (Rika Sonezaki in O Maidens in Your Savage Season, Hayase Nagatoro in Don’t Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro) as Lum, Hiroshi Kamiya (Levi in Attack on Titan, Trafalgar Law in One Piece) as Ataru Moroboshi, Maaya Uchida (Rikka in Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions, Hiyori in Noragami) as Shinobu Miyaki and Mamoru Miyano (Light in Death Note, Rintaro in Steins;Gate) as Shutaro Mendo.
The future home video release of Urusei Yatsura will be distributed by and available from Sentai.