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2nd Utawarerumono Game Gets TV Anime in October

King Records announced on Sunday that a television anime adaptation of Utawarerumono: Itsuwari no Kamen (Utawarerumono: The False Mask), the upcoming second game in the Utawarerumono series, has been green-lit. The anime will premiere in October and last 25 episodes over two cours (quarters of the year).

Weekly Famitsu magazine teased the game's story:

When I came to, I realized I was standing in the middle of a vast, snowy plain I knew nothing of. I didn't know how I got there. And to add to that, I couldn't remember anything, not even my name. I stood there, dumbfounded at my absurd situation. But then, as if to spite me further, a gigantic monster suddenly appeared, an insect-like creature that began to bear down on me. I tried desperately to run, but it cornered me into a hopeless situation. It was then that the girl appeared. Her name was Kuon. It was this beautiful girl, who bore an animal's ears and tail, who saved my life.

Keitaro Motonaga (Date A Live, ToHeart - Remember my memories, School Days) is directing the anime at the studio WHITE FOX. Masahiko Nakata (Utawarerumono, Tears to Tiara) is adapting the original character designs by Tatsuki Amazuyu (Utawarerumono, Tears to Tiara, ToHeart2 franchise) and Misato Mitsumi (ToHeart2 franchise). Munemitsu Suga is supervising the scenario, and Takamitsu Kouno (ToHeart2ad, Utawarerumono OVA, We Without Wings - Under the Innocent Sky, Abnormal Physiology Seminar) is serving as series script supervisor. Naoya Shimokawa (To Heart franchise) and Aquaplus are credited with the music.

Some of the game's cast members are also voicing the anime:

Keiji Fujiwara as Haku. Kuon saved him and gave him a name. He has lost most of his memories, and his origins are unclear.

Risa Taneda as Kuon. A doctor with ears and tail like an animal's. Separated from her homeland, she encounters Haku while traveling along leisurely.

Ai Kakuma as Rurutie, a princess in waiting of Kujūri, a colony of the great country Yamato

Inori Minase as Nekone, Ukon's little sister

Kentarou Tone as Ukon, who Haku and Kuon got to know at a tavern

The adventure simulation game takes place in a world where people have animal ears and tails, and rival generals battle for supremacy. In the original game, the player commanded units in tactical combat, while also progressing the story through dialogue with the characters.

The game features several more actors from the first Utawarerumono game: Miyuki Sawashiro (Aruru), Kaya Miyake (Touka), Atsuko Tanaka (Karura), Rie Kugimiya (Camus), Tsuyoshi Koyama (Kurou), and Daisuke Namikawa (Benawi). Other new cast members include Ayane Sakura, Misaki Kuno, Takuya Eguchi, Ayumu Murase, Chinatsu Akasaki, Takahiro Sakurai, Yumi Hara, Saori Hayami, and Nozomi Yamamoto.

The second game is slated for a September 24 release for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation Vita in Japan. Regular versions will retail for 6,800 yen (around US$56) and a premium edition will retail for 9,800 yen (around US$81). The producer also promised that the third game will be released within one-and-a-half to two years after the release of the second.

Aquaplus released the original Utawarerumono game in 2002 for the PC. It inspired a 2006 television anime series and a 2009 original video anime series. ADV Films released the television series in North America in 2007, and Funimation has since picked up the North American release rights.

Arō Shimakusa also launched a manga adaptation of the game in ASCII Media Works' Dengeki G's Magazine, which ran from Septermber 2005 to November 2006. Atlus USA released the PS3 fighting game Aquapazza in November 2013. The game contained characters from the original Utawarerumono game, alongside other characters from the Aquaplus and Leaf game library.