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Aniplus HD Streams English-Subtitled Video for Granblue Fantasy Anime Special

Southeast Asian channel Aniplus HD began streaming an English-subtitled video on Monday for its simulcast airing of the Zankutinzeru-Hen (Zinkenstill Arc) television anime special of Cygames' Granblue Fantasy smartphone game.

Aniplus HD will premiere the anime on January 21 at 6:30 p.m. in Indonesia and Thailand, and at 7:30 p.m in Singapore and the Philippines. The anime will have an encore broadcast the following day at 9:00 p.m. in Indonesia and Thailand, and at 10:00 p.m at Singapore and the Philippines.

Aniplus HD describes the anime:

This is a world of the skies, where many islands drift in the sky. A boy named Gran and a talking winged lizard named Vyrn lived in Zinkenstill, an island which yields mysteries. One day, they come across a girl named Lyria. Lyria had escaped from the Erste Empire, a military government that is trying to rule over this world using powerful military prowess. In order to escape from the Empire, Gran and Lyria head out into the vast skies, holding the letter Gran's father left behind - which said, "I will be waiting at Estalucia, Island of Stars”.

The anime's cast includes:

Yūki Ono as Gran
Nao Tōyama as Lyria
Rie Kugimiya as Vyrn
Miyuki Sawashiro as Katalina
Hiroaki Hirata as Rackam
Yukari Tamura as Io
Rie Tanaka as Rosetta
Emiri Katō as Sierokarte
Tomokazu Sugita as Drang
Kanae Itō as Sturm

The preview special will debut in Japan on January 21, before the main television anime premieres in spring.

Yuuki Itoh (Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha ViVid) is directing the anime at A-1 Pictures with Ayako Kurata as anime series director. Cygames itself is credited for the scripts, and Toshifumi Akai (Kokoro Connect, Sound of the Sky) is designing the characters. Nobuo Uematsu (Final Fantasy games I-XI), Tsutomu Narita (Final Fantasy XIV composer and arranger), and Yasunori Nishiki are composing the music. BUMP OF CHICKEN performs the anime's theme song "GO."

The other staff members include:

• Chief Animation Directors: Mami Komatsu, Akira Takata, Yuki Imoto
• Prop Design: Akira Takata
• Effects Animation: Takashi Hashimoto
• Art Design: Shiho Takeuchi, Kazushi Fujii
• Art Director: Masatoshi Kai (Studio KAIMU)
• Color design: Kazuko Nakashima
• 3D Director: Shūji Shinoda (BUEMON)
• Director of Photography: Yoshihiro Sekiya (Graphinica)
• 2D Work/Special Effects: Saya Utsumi (Graphinica)
• Editing: Akinori Mishima (Graphinica)
• Sound Director: Yoichi Hayakawa
• Sound Production Tôhoku Shinsha

Cygames released Granblue Fantasy for iOS and Android devices in December 2013, and it has since registered over 12 million users. The game features music from Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu and art by Final Fantasy VI and Final Fantasy IX art designer Hideo Minaba. Cygames previously announced that the game will receive an English version.

Illustrator Kendi Oiwa (Welcome to the NHK, Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag -Kakusei-, Goth) and writer Makoto Fūgetsu launched a manga adaptation of the game last April.