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Fruits Basket's Daichi Helms Ninja Gag Anime Hana no Zundamaru

Anime Bancho's YouTube channel began streaming a promotional video to announce that Jirō Tsunoda's ninja gag comedy manga Ninja Awate-maru is inspiring a new original net anime called Hana no Zundamaru:

Anime Bancho describes the story:

I, Zundamaru, am a second-rate ninja at Iga Ninja School!
To get the girls, I carry out dangerous missions with my partner Shakuremaru!
With a cute girl from Koga and tons of annoying enemies, it's a scribble of hyperactive comedy action animation!

According to the video, production on Hana no Zundamaru was originally cancelled because it "wasn't random and bizarre enough." However, after much wrangling and negotiations, the anime is being revived for Anime Bancho on YouTube — but with a tiny staff of two to three:

• Director/Screenplay/Layout: Akitarō Daichi (Fruits Basket, Kodocha, Now and Then, Here and There)
• "All Key Animation"/Production Design: Rie Ōshima (Mebius Tone)
• Cinematography: Kazushige Yusa (Mebius Tone)
• Music: Jun Abe, Seiji Muto
• Production: CoMix Wave Films

The cast are:

• Zundamaru: Suzuko Mimori
• Shakuremaru: Naoyuki Kojima
• Sayuri/Kemeko: Maria Yamamoto
• Kiririmaru: Suguru Narisawa
• Chibimaru: Taichi Hamada
• Principal of Iga Ninja School/Head of Koga: Akira Kamiya

The weekly anime will premiere on October 22. Ninja Awate-maru already inspired two seasons of the television anime Hana no Pyun Pyun Maru from 1967 to 1970. Daichi held auditions for a new anime last year.