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Udon Licenses Infini-T Force Manga With Limited Pre-Launch at Anime Expo

Udon Entertainment announced on Wednesday that it has licensed Ukyō Kodachi and Tatsuma Ejiri's Infini-T Force: Arc to the Future (Infini-T Force ~Mirai no Byōsen~) manga for English release in North America. The company will release a limited-edition version of the first volume at its booth at Anime Expo in July.

The limited-edition volume will be limited to 300 copies. The edition will have a special cover with soft touch lamination, silver foil logos, and 3D spot gloss. People who purchase the limited edition at Anime Expo will receive one of four exclusive clear files produced by Shogakukan's Monthly Hero's Magazine, the manga's original Japanese publisher.

Udon Entertainment will release the standard edition of the manga's first volume in September, followed by the second volume in December. Subsequent volumes will ship in 2018.

The story of the original manga begins when a girl named Emi uses a pencil that can grant any wish. Emi gets caught up in the robbery of a convenience store, and her life is in danger. She uses the pencil to wish for a "hero that will save everyone." Four heroes appear in response to Emi's wish to change the course of the future.

The manga launched in the Monthly Hero's magazine in 2015. Kodachi (Boruto, Naruto: Gaara Hiden - Sajingensō novel) is writing the story, and Ejiri (P2! - Let's Play Pingpong!, World 4u_) is illustrating the series. Shogakukan Creative released the third compiled book volume on April 5.

Anime Expo will also host the world premiere of Tatsunoko Productions' Infini-T Force CG-animated television anime at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 1. Director Kiyotaka Suzuki and voice actor Tomokazu Seki (Gatchaman/Ken Washio) will attend the premiere event for a Q&A session. Suzuki will also have autograph sessions throughout the convention.

The anime will have a different story than Kodachi's manga. The anime will premiere in Japan this October on NTV and other channels. The series will air as part of NTV's new "AnichU" one-hour programming block.

The project celebrates Tatsunoko Productions' 55th anniversary in October 2017. The anime will feature the heroes from four earlier Tatsunoko Productions anime: Tekkaman, the Space Knight, Casshan (Casshern), Gatchaman, and Hurricane Polymar.

This year's Anime Expo convention will run from July 1 to July 4 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. In addition, the convention will formally include a preview night a day before on June 30.