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Bones' Space Dandy Anime Debuts on January 4 With Ian Sinclair

Funimation announced on Thursday that BONES' upcoming science-fiction comedy anime Space Dandy will premiere on Adult Swim's Toonami block on January 4 at 11:30 p.m. Funimation also unveiled the English voice cast, alongside the Japanese cast, and the first full promotional video subtitled in English:

Toonami then unveiled its full lineup for January 4, including its debut of Naruto Shippūden:

• 11:30 p.m. – Space Dandy
• 12:00 a.m. – Bleach
• 12:30 a.m. – Naruto Shippuden
• 1:00 a.m. – One Piece
• 1:30 a.m. – Soul Eater
• 2:00 a.m. – Sword Art Online
• 2:30 a.m. – FLCL 
• 3:00 a.m. – Uncut Naruto (starting from episode 1)
• 3:30 a.m. – Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood
• 4:00 a.m. – Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
• 4:30a – IGPX
• 5:00a – Star Wars: Clone Wars
• 5:30a - Inuyasha

The series will premiere in Japan on January 5 at 11:00 p.m. Animax Asia will also premiere the series in Southeast Asia on that day. Animax Korea is showing the anime in South Korea, while Madman Entertainment's Screening Room is streaming with English subtitles in Australia and New Zealand at the same time as the Japanese broadcast. Anime Limited licensed the anime for English and French-speaking countries and regions in Europe, while AV Visionen will stream the series with German subtitles in AV Visionen.

Space Dandy is the upcoming science-fiction comedy series from director Shinichiro Watanabe (Macross Plus, Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, Kids on the Slope) and studio BONES.

The story revolves around Dandy, an alien-hunter. His job is to seek out new aliens never seen before, and receives a reward whenever he finds a new species. His mission is to find those new species faster than anyone else as he travels the galaxy. Together with the bucket-of-bolts robot QT and the dimwit alien Meow he picked up along the way, he comes into contact with new planets and their inhabitants.

The character include:

Dandy, a human male who works as an alien hunter. His age is unclear, but he is most likely in his late 20s. He does not care about little things, and believes that his dream is somewhere in the world. He frequents "Boobies," a restaurant known for its voluptuous waitresses. (As Bones producer Masahiko Minami observes, Boobies is not to be confused with the Hooters chain.)

QT, a vacuum cleaner robot. QT says that she is high-powered, but she's actually just a bucket of bolts. (Minami: "It's a Roomba.") She's very serious and her pride is a little big. She likes tidiness.

Meow, a dimwit alien. Contrary to expectations, he's not a genetically advanced cat, but he's actually an alien that lives on the star Betelgeuse. Meow is very carefree, as if he were raised with no constraints. He already knows how to use a cellphone.

Dr. Gel, a brilliant scientist pursuing Dandy

Bea, Dr. Gel's assistant from the planet Pylori. At first glance, he looks like a cucumber, but he is a person.

Commodore Perry (not pictured)

Honey, a waitress with a nice body and dim wits at the Boobies restaurant

Scarlet, a beautiful inspector at the space alien registration center

Staff members include:

• General Director: Shinichiro Watanabe
• Director: Shingo Natsume
• Scriptwriters: Dai Sato, Keiko Nobumoto, and Kimiko Ueno
• Character Design: Yoshiyuki Ito
• Spaceship Design: Thomas Romain
• Theme Song: Yasuyuki Okamura
• Animation Production: BONES

Yasuyuki Okamura (City Hunter 2) is performing the theme song "Viva Namida" and another song, "Healthy Merci."

Images © 2014 Bones/Project Space Dandy