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Aniplex USA Licenses The Asterisk War Anime

Aniplex of America announced on Tuesday that it has licensed television anime of author Yuu Miyazaki and illustrator okiura's The Asterisk War: The Academy City on the Water (Gakusen Toshi Asterisk) light novel series. The series will stream on Crunchyroll beginning on October 3.

Aniplex describes the story:

Invertia (meteor storm)… an unprecedented disaster that struck the world during the 20th century.

Because of this disaster, numerous cities around the world were destroyed. However, within the meteor, an unknown element called mana (the all-encompassing element), was discovered, which allowed human technology to make rapid strides.

This also gave rise to a new species of human born with unique skills – the Star Pulse Generation (Genestella).

The setting for the world's greatest comprehensive battle spectacle, the Festas (Star Warrior Festivals),is an academy city above the water surrounded by six academies called “Rikka,” also commonly known as “Asterisk.” Having transferred into Seidoukan Academy in order to fulfill his own wish, scholarship student Ayato Amagiri swears he too will fight in this city.

Burning souls race…
The curtain rises on this school battle spectacle!

The main cast includes:

Atsushi Tamaru as Ayato Amagiri

Ai Kakuma as Julis-Alexia von Riessfelt

Nao Toyama as Claudia Enfield

Shiori Izawa as Saya Sasamiya

Ari Ozawa as Kirin Todo

Additional cast includes:

Yūma Uchida as Eishiro Yabuki
Takanori Hoshino as Lester MacPhail
Chinatsu Akasaki as Ernesta Kuhne
Mutsumi Tamura as Camilla Pareto
Yumi Uchiyama as Irene Urzaiz
Juri Nagatsuma as Priscilla Urzaiz
Tomokazu Sugita as Dirk Eberwein

Manabu Ono (A-Channel, Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere, The irregular at magic high school, Saki) is serving as general director of the series at A-1 Pictures. Kenji Seto (Wooser no Sono Higurashi Kakusei-hen, assistant director on A-Channel and Saki) is directing the series, Tetsuya Kawakami (Nanana's Buried Treasure, Robot Girls Z, Shigofumi - Letters from the Departed, Toei Robot Girls) is handling the character designs and serving as animation director, Rasmus Faber (Lagrange - The Flower of Rin-ne theme songs) is composing the music, and Flying Dog is producing the music.

Shiena Nishizawa is performing the opening theme song, and Maaya Sakamoto is performing the ending theme song "Waiting for the rain."

The anime is also inspiring a PlayStation Vita game in 2016.

Miyazaki launched the novel series in 2012, and Media Factory published the eighth volume on May 25. The light novels have inspired a manga by Ningen, as well as the Gakusen Toshi Asterisk Gaiden: Queenveil no Tsubasa spinoff manga by Shou Akane.