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Viz Media Adds Gargantia, Blood Lad TV Anime

North American anime distributor Viz Media announced at its Neon Alley panel at Anime Expo on Friday that it has licensed the Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet anime and the Blood Lad anime.

Viz Media will stream Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet series on its website and on Hulu. Its license includes streaming, home media, and merchandise rights. The company plans to release the series, with OVAs, on DVD and Blu-ray Disc in 2014.

Production I.G's original science-fiction adventure anime begins in the distant future in the far reaches of the galaxy. The Human Galactic Alliance has been constantly fighting for its survival against a grotesque race of beings. During an intense battle, the young lieutenant Ledo (played by Kaito Ishikawa) and his humanoid mobile weapon Chamber are swallowed up into a distortion of time and space.

Waking from his artificially induced hybernation, Ledo realizes that he has arrived on Earth, the long forgotten planet. On this planet that was completely flooded by the seas, people live in fleets of giant ships, salvaging relics from the seas' depths in order to survive.

Ledo arrives on one of the city fleets called Gargantia. With no knowledge of the planet's history or culture, he is forced to live alongside Amy (Hisako Kanemoto), a 15-year-old girl who serves as a messenger aboard the Gargantia fleet. To Ledo, who has lived a life where he knows nothing but fighting, these days of peace continue to surprise him.

With this project, manga artist Hanaharu Naruko (Shōjo Material, Kamichu!) created his first original character designs for an anime. Gen Urobuchi (Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Fate/Zero) of Nitroplus supervised and wrote the scripts. Taro Iwashiro (Red Cliff, Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos, live-action SHINOBI - Heart Under Blade and The Prince of Tennis) scored the music, and Kazuya Murata (Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos) directed the series. (Murata and Urobuchi collaborated on the original concept of the anime.) Crunchyroll streamed the 13-episode anime as it aired.

Viz Media will stream Blood Lad on its website and on Hulu. Viz Media's license includes home media, download-to-own, and streaming rights. The series will be stream on Neon Alley in 2014, and will also get a Blu-ray Disc and DVD release in 2014.

The dark comedy anime adapts Yūki Kodama's manga that follows a vampire named Staz who has his figurative heart stolen by Fuyumi, a human high school girl who suddenly appears in his world. Unfortunately, she is just as suddenly killed, and thus she becomes a ghost. Staz tries to bring Fuyumi back to life.

Joining Ryota Ohsaka (Valvrave the Liberator, The Devil is a Part-Timer!) in the cast is Iori Nomizu (Is this a zombie?, Problem children are coming from another world, aren't they?) as Fuyumi Yanagi, Takuma Terashima (The Idolm@ster, Kokoro Connect) as Wolf, Chiwa Saito (Rosario + Vampire Capu2, Bakemonogatari) as Mamejirō, Ryohei Kimura (Valvrave the Liberator, Neo Angelique) as Blood D. Bloods, Taichi Komesu as Deck, Yuuka Nanri (Wandering Son, Problem children are coming from another world, aren't they? ) as Blood T. Liz, Kazutomi Yamamoto (Majestic Prince, Makai Ōji: Devils and Realist) as Mimic Yoshida, and Koji Yusa (Zettai Karen Children, Valvrave the Liberator) as Papladon Achim.

Shigeyuki Miya (Lupin III: Green vs Red, Buzzer Beater) will be directing the anime at Brains Base from scripts by Takeshi Konuta (Library War, Toshokan Sensō: Kakumei no Tsubasa), and Kenji Fujisaki (chief animation director on Battle Girls - Time Paradox) will be handling the character designs. May'n (Macross Frontier) will be performing the anime's "ViViD" opening theme, while Yuuka Nanri (.hack//Roots) will be performing the ending theme "BLOODY HOLIC."

The anime will premiere on Japanese television on Sunday, and it will stream that same day.

Viz Media also announced that the Neon Alley service is now available online for PCs and Macs. Neon Alley will also have a new feature coming soon that will allow subscribers to catch up on episodes they've missed on either on the Xbox 360 or PS3 app or online.

Viz Media revealed the Neon Alley will stream the Puella Magi Madoka Magica anime and the Magi anime this fall. Aniplex of America had previously revealed on Thursday that Magi would stream on Neon Alley.

Neon Alley will premiere K on the service on July 12. Additionally, more One Piece episodes will also stream starting on July 12. The Naruto Shippūden: The Lost Tower will also stream on Neon Alley on July 28. Tiger & Bunny: The Beginning will also stream on Neon Alley on August 11. Naruto Shippūden: The Lost Tower will ship on Blu-ray Disc and DVD on September 17.