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Appleseed XIII Episode, Event to Be Streamed Free (Updated)

The Nico Nico Douga website will stream the first episode of the Appleseed XIII anime project at midnight on Friday, June 3 in Japan (11:00 a.m. on Thursday, June 2 EDT). The Ustream website will then stream a collaborative event between Appleseed XIII and the gamers' community site FPSField on Thursday, June 9 at 7:00 p.m. in Japan (6:00 a.m. EDT).

Appleseed XIII is a new retelling of Masamune Shirow's Appleseed future paramilitary manga, separate from Kazuyoshi Katayama's previous original video anime and Shinji Aramaki's two computer-animated movies. This latest adaptation will be composed of 13 22-minute direct-to-video anime episodes, plus two feature-length compilation films of the episodes.

Nico Nico Douga's official Appleseed XIII channel will also stream the later episodes of Appleseed XIII in the future. The "theatrical remix version" of the first half of the story, Appleseed XIII ~Yuigon~, will open in theaters in Japan on June 13. During the theatrical release, a limited edition of the first Blu-ray volume will be sold exclusively at participating theaters, followed by a regular release on July 6.

Nico Nico Douga requires its users to fill a registration form in Japanese, but there are normally no geographical restrictions on where users can watch its live streaming videos. Ustream requires no registration to use. A drawing for presents will be held among the people who posts Twitter messages during the Ustream event.

Sources: Saishin Anime Jōhō, Comic Natalie

Image © 2011 Masamune Shirow/Seishinsha, Appleseed XIII Production Committee

Update: Nico Nico Douga has restricted the free episode screening to Japan. Thanks, Arsenette.