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Bandai Visual USA Gets Shigofumi, True Tears Anime (Updated)
posted on by Egan Loo
Bandai Visual USA has announced that it will release two ongoing anime television series, the Shigofumi - Letters from the Departed supernatural drama series and the True Tears young adult drama series, in seven volumes each starting in May of 2008. Both series just started broadcasting in Japan in the first week of January, and Bandai Visual USA says that their North American DVD releases will follow their Japanese DVD releases by only two months. The company also confirmed that it is releasing a Blu-ray Disc box set of the Yukikaze science-fiction action series on April 8.
Shigofumi centers on Fumika, a messenger who sends the last letters from the dearly departed to those left behind. The series features director Tatsuo Satō (Stellvia, Martian Successor Nadesico), series script supervisor Ichiro Okouchi (Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, Planetes), and original character designer Kouhaku Kuroboshi (Kino's Journey). The story is based on Ryo Amamiya's popular light novel series of the same name. The first six English-subbed Bandai Visual DVDs of this series will start shipping on May 13 for US$39.99 with two episodes each; the seventh and last DVD will have one episode for US$29.99.
True Tears is a teenage slice-of-life series about an aspiring picturing book author named Shinichiro, whose family takes in a girl named Hiromi after her father dies. As Shinichiro tries to help Hiromi release her bottled feelings, he meets another girl named Noe who lost her ability to cry due to enigmatic changes in her life. The series features director Junji Nishimura (Simoun, You're Under Arrest) and series script editor Mari Okada (Sasami: Magical Girl Club and the upcoming Vampire Knight anime). The first volume will ship with one episode on May 27 for US$29.99, and the next six volumes will ship with two episodes each for US$39.99. All volumes will have Japanese dialogue with English subtitles.
The Blu-ray Disc reissue of Yukikaze willl come with the complete series in a three-disc box set for US$149.99 on April 8. The Gonzo studio based this anime on Chohei Kanbayashi's two science fiction novels about fighters pilots defending Earth from a mysterious alien enemy. The anime was originally released on DVD by Bandai Entertainment in North America from 2004 to 2005. Bandai Visual USA says the new Blu-ray Disc release will include never-before-seen footage.
Update: "Ryo Amamiya," the penname of the Shigofumi light novels and anime's creator, was coined by taking one character from each name of four staffers on the multimedia project and repronouncing them: series script editor Ichiro Okouchi, Bandai Visual's Jun Yukawa, GENCO's Nobuhiro Ōsawa, and J.C. Staff's Yūji Matsukura. The light novels were actually written concurrently with the anime's production. Thanks, Andrew Cunningham.
