While some R1 studios seem to be spending their time trying to figure out how to get through next week, Funimation is mirroring our 'damn the topedoes, full speed ahead' spirit by announcing no less than seven new licenses since Katsucon a couple of weeks ago, and promises more to come.Here's what we've got so far:
Rin Daughters of Mnemosyne
6 Episodes
Horror, Mystery, Science fiction, Supernatural, Yuri
Rin Asōgi may look like an ordinary office lady on the outside but she is actually a private investigator taking on any jobs, from finding a stray cat to infiltrating a high-security corporate lab. What's more, she appears literally indestructible, supernaturally healing any injuries and mutilations. Together with her partner Mimi, Rin delves into the darkest secrets of the society but the ones she hides herself are by far more sinister...
El Cazador De La Bruja
26 Episodes
Adventure, Drama, Mystery, Supernatural, Girls with Guns
Ellis, a young girl suspected of murdering prominent physicist Heinrich Schneider, is on the run from prosecution when she is tracked down by a female bounty hunter Nadie in a small Mexican town. However, instead of turning her in, Nadie impulsively decides to help her and the two embark on a journey south where they hope to find clues about Ellis' past. The guiding stars of their journey are the mysterious gemstone "Rosa del Inca" and the "Eternal City" of Wiñay Marka.
Seto no Hanayome (being released as 'My Bride Is A Mermaid')
24 Episodes
Action, Comedy, Romance, Slice of life, Supernatural
A young boy gets saved from drowning by a mermaid but, according to mermaid law, if a human sees a mermaid's true form, both have to be killed. The only solution to the problem is for him to marry her.
Bamboo Blade
26 Episodes
Comedy, Slice of Life, Sports (Kendo)
Toraji Ishida is a high school kendo teacher. His friend and fellow kendo teacher makes him a bet: if Ishida can assemble a girls' kendo team that can defeat his girls' team in a practice match, he'll treat Ishida to free meals at his father's sushi restaurant for a whole year. Now Ishida must find five girls to join the team. Bamboo Blade comes from the licensor D. Rights, while the other four projects come from GDH, the parent company of the Gonzo anime studio.
The Tower of Druaga: the Aegis of Uruk & the Sword of Uruk (Both Seasons)
12 Episodes (S1) & 12 Episodes (S2)
Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
The Summer of "Anu": In a summer once every five years, demons in the mysterious Tower of Druaga lose their powers due to the magic spell cast by a god named "Anu". King Gilgamesh, ruler of the kingdom Uruk, uses the appearance of demons as an excuse to invade the tower and find out the construct's secrets. As 80 years passed, the Uruk army managed to fight back the demons and built a fortress city and safe haven on the very first floor of Druaga - Metz Kier. Thus begins the story of a warrior named Jil who, finding companions along the way, embarks on a quest for the fabled Blue Crystal Rod, a powerful artifact rumored to be in the highest floor of Druaga. However, other competitors, including the kingdom of Uruk itself, want the treasure, all for their own reasons.
Dragonaut - The Resonance
25 Episodes
Drama, Fantasy, Romance, Science Fiction
In order to avoid Earth's impending destruction from an asteroid, the International Solarsystem Development Agency (ISDA) works on the "D-Project", and creates dragons after finding a dragon egg under the ocean. However, they soon find out that the asteroid is not their only threat, as powerful dragon-like creatures appear on Earth. After witnessing a murder by one of the creatures, Jin Kamishina gets involved in the mysteries of the dragons and becomes a dragon pilot, otherwise known as a "Dragonaut". Helping him on his journey is Toa, a mysterious girl who saves him from falling to his death after the creature attacks him. As they delve deeper into the mysteries of the dragons, they encounter new friends and enemies, and also begin to develop a closer relationship.
Blassreiter
24 Episodes
Action, Drama, Horror, Science Fiction
Faced with an outbreak of demonic blood, which transforms humans into insane and hideous creatures bent on violence and death, only one man can stand against the tide of destruction. Joseph Jobson, the only man able to control his cursed demonic form, must hunt down the man who cursed him and save the world from apocalypse.
Funi has not scheduled any of these as yet, but they will all probably fall somewhere on the 3rd and 4th quarter release schedule this year.
Oh, and Bandai announced at Wondercon this weekend they have licensed the Lucky Star OVA. Hey, anything new coming out of Bandai at this point is welcome news indeed. :-)
4 comments:
Funimation is basically all that's left of R1.
Problem is, how long does Navarre have left before _they_ are the ones to go bust (and take Funimation with them)?
Problem is, how long does Navarre have left before _they_ are the ones to go bust (and take Funimation with them)?
Navarre's financials aren't too bad over all (not yet anyway), and they still have adequate cash flow to meet their debt obligations. They did a good thing closing up BCI early before the losses got out of hand. Funi is still proftable and still retains a great deal of value in the market. You can read over NAVR's financials over at EDGAR online.
I think if Navarre gets into a bind Funi will end up being sold off or divested out to a private equity firm or consortium of retail partners. If the opportunity ever emerged to take Funi private again as a standalone company, we’d certainly be willing to make a significant financial investment in them towards that goal. In the end I don't think Funi's fate will be tied to Navarre, but Genji's stock options might be another matter. :-)
Seto no Hanayome is gonna be worth every cent. I haven't laughed so hard at an anime in a long time. Absolutely can't wait to own it. I hope they scoop up the OVAs too.
It's kinda hard to believe that five years ago Funi did nothing for me (other than Gunslinger Girl a coule years later) and now they seem to be darlings of the industry (and for good reason) and almost 80% of what I buy ends up being from them.
Funimation has never been a real big hit with me. I got into DBZ with all my friends and then FMA. Up till now I've hated how they kept buying out ADV and Geneon. But, now I think they were being pretty cool about the entire ordeal. I do hope that they don't become the market though, I'd hate to see Bandai and ADV go completely out.
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