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17th Paralympics Anime Short Features Ushio & Tora with Para-Archery
posted on by Alex Mateo
NHK announced on Thursday the 17th installment of its "Anime x Para: Who is Your Hero?" (Ani × Para: Anata no Hero wa Dare Desu ka) animated project is a para-archery anime short based on Kazuhiro Fujita's Ushio & Tora series. The 5-minute short will air on the NHK BS channel on February 27 at 3:30 p.m. JST. NHK posted a trailer, which reveals and previews the theme song "Amateras" by BURNOUT SYNDROMES.
The anime will feature a portrayal of real-life Paralympic archer Aiko Okazaki, who is paralyzed from the neck down. Kumiko Asō will voice Okazaki in the short. Tasuku Hatanaka (Ushio), Rikiya Koyama (Tora), and Megumi Hayashibara (Hakumen no Mono) are reprising their roles.
"Anime x Para: Who is Your Hero?" is an animated series aiming to increase interest in parasports ahead of the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Previous shorts in the series collaborated with Captain Tsubasa for blind soccer, Baby Steps for wheelchair tennis, renowned Ashita no Joe artist Tetsuya Chiba for wheelchair rugby, and Yowamushi Pedal for para-cycling, among others. Last year's short adapted Sound! Euphonium author Ayano Takeda's Kimi to Kogu - Nagatoro Kōkō Canoe-bu (Rowing With You - Nagatoro High School Canoeing Club) novel series. The project started in 2017.
Fujita's Ushio & Tora manga ran from 1990 to 1996 in Weekly Shonen Sunday with 33 volumes. The manga was adapted into an original video anime series in 1992 and a television anime that began in July 2015. Sentai Filmworks licensed the television series, and Crunchyroll streamed the series as it aired in Japan.
Sources: NHK (link 2), Comic Natalie
