News

Crunchyroll Adds Shattered Angels, Hal, Vexille, TO, More Anime to Catalog

Crunchyroll announced on Thursday that it has added the Shattered Angels anime series, the Hal and Vexille films, and the TO original video anime (OVA) to its streaming catalog. The company also announced on Thursday that it is streaming the Garo the Animation, Bayonetta: Bloody Fate, King of Thorn, and Tokyo Majin (both seasons) anime.

Shattered Angels (Kyoshiro to Towa no Sora) is streaming in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. Crunchyroll describes the series:

Kuu attends school in the city of learning, Academia. She soon finds herself locked in conflict with the Absolute Angels: a group of beautiful girls who feed on human life force to survive. Wielding god-like strength, they have the power to destroy the world itself. But are they truly demons of destruction or simply innocent girls trapped in a fate they can't escape?

The anime premiered in 2007 as an adaptation of a manga by Kaishaku (Steel Angel Kurumi, UFO Princess Valkyrie). ADV Films once licensed the 12-episode series and released it with an English dub. Funimation later picked up the license, and it is streaming the series on FunimationNow with both English and Japanese audio.

Hal is streaming in the United States and Canada. The "near-future romance" film appears to follow a girl named Kurumi who lost Haru, a boy she liked, in a plane accident. A robot "Robo Hal (Haru)" turns into her substitute for Haru.

The film premiered in Japan in June 2013. Funimation premiered the English dub at Anime Expo in 2014 and released the film on home video the same year. The film is streaming on FunimationNow with both English and Japanese audio.

Manga creator Io Sakisaka (Strobe Edge, Blue Spring Ride) created the original character designs, and Ryoutarou Makihara (storyboard and episode direction on Guilty Crown, The Tatami Galaxy) made his directorial debut with this film at Wit Studio.

Vexille - 2077 Isolation of Japan is streaming in the United States and Canada. Crunchyroll describes the story:

In 2067, Japan sealed itself off from the world after international policy set strict limits on the use of robotic technology. A decade later, the nation's veil of secrecy is breached by S.W.O.R.D., an elite fighting force operating outside of the protection of the U.S. and her allies. Their mission: Determine if Japan is developing banned robotic bio-technology that could threaten humanity.

Shochiku and the production team of the 2004 Appleseed movie created the CG anime film, which centers on a special forces unit that infiltrates a neo-isolationist Japan to stop a biotechnological threat. Fumihiko Sori (Ping Pong, Dragon Age: Dawn of the Seeker, To) directed the original film and co-wrote the script with Haruka Handa (Appleseed).

Funimation released the CG film on DVD and Blu-ray Dsc in North America in 2008 after a limited theatrical release earlier that year. FunimationNow is streaming the film with both English and Japanese audio. Variety reported in 2013 that Universal Pictures had acquired the rights to make a live-action film adaptation.

The TO original video anime is streaming in the United States and Canada. Crunchyroll describes the story:

The creative force behind Appleseed returns with two haunting vignettes about mankind's ruthless quest to build a future in the vacuum of space. Elliptical Orbit: a mysterious space freighter carries a power source vital to Earth's survival. Symbiotic Planet: Aon and Elena—star-crossed lovers from rival countries struggle to survive a deadly alien outbreak!

Vexille director Sori also directed this adaptation of two stories from Yukinobu Hoshino's manga 2001 Nights, which depicts humans at different stages of their centuries-long ascent into space. Funimation licensed and released the two-episode OVA, and is streaming both episodes with both English and Japanese audio.

Garo the Animation is available in the United States and Canada. Crunchyroll describes the series:

The Makai Knights protect humanity from demonic entities known as Horrors. But the King's advisor begins a witch hunt aimed at eliminating the Knights. As the King lies bedridden, his advisor banishes the heir to the throne. In a daring attempt to save his people, the Prince seeks the aide of the legendary Golden Knight in his quest to reclaim his kingdom!

The 24-episode series premiered in October 2014, and Funimation released the series on home video in two sets last year.

Bayonetta: Bloody Fate is available in the United States, Canada, and South Africa. Crunchyroll describes the film:

Twenty years after her awakening, the hottest witch in gaming history is still searching for clues that could help unravel the mysteries of her dark past. Aided in her quest by the clandestine weapon smith Rodin—and his deadly creations: Scarborough Fair—Bayonetta continues to leave a trail of angel corpses in her irresistible wake.

The film premiered in Japan in 2013. Funimation released the film on home video in 2014.

King of Thorn is available in the United States and Canada. Crunchyroll describes the story:

Panic spreads worldwide as the Medousa Virus threatens to wipe out the human race. Kasumi is one of 160 people chosen to be cryogenically frozen while a cure is found. When she awakens to find the facility overrun with thorny vines and ravenous monsters, Kasumi and six others struggle to survive this labyrinthine nightmare. If they survive, how long do they have to live?

The film originally premiered in 2009. Funimation released the film on home video in 2012 and again in 2016.

Tokyo Majin is available in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. Crunchyroll describes the series:

Tokyo. A wave of mysterious deaths ripples throughout the city. Corpses of the un-dead, controlled by monstrous creatures, scour the urban underworld at the bidding of their dark master, seeking a power that could bring about the final apocalypse. With the police helpless in the face of these unnamable horrors, the fate of the world hangs on five unlikely saviors: the students of Tokyo Majin!

The first 14-episode series aired in 2007. The second series, Tokyo Majin Gakuen Kenpucho: Tou 2nd Act, featured 12 episodes and aired later that same year. ADV Films first released both series in 2007-2008. Funimation later released both series in 2008, 2009, and 2010.