News

Hanabee Acquisitions from Perth Wai-Con 2014

The titles were announced during the Hanabee Panel hosted by Karen and Cameron from Hanabee, details are as follows;

• Medaka Box: 12 episodes over 2 discs with both Japanese audio with English subtitles and English dub.
• Nekomonogatari (Black): 4 episodes on 1 disk, Japanese audio with English subtitles.

Both titles are adapted from works written by Japanese novelist NisiOisin and are scheduled to be released on the 4th of June 2014.

Medaka Box

Hakoniwa Academy has just elected Medaka Kurokami (voiced by Aki Toyosaki) as head of the school's student council with 98% of the vote. To follow through on her duties to the academy she creates a suggestion box where the student body can submit pleas for help, 24 hours a day and 365 days a year and alongside her best friend Zenkichi Hitoyoshi (Yūki Ono) she starts to solve the suggestions in an unconventional manner. Of course Medaka solves these problems while gaining other members for the student council, challenging the supernatural forces that control the school and near constant battling on a daily basis.

Based on the manga written by NisiOisin and illustrated by Akira Akatsuki, Medaka Box was published in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump between May 2009 and April 2013 and has been collected into 22 volumes. The anime adaptation was produced by Gainax with Shouji Saeki (Mahoromatic: Summer Special, This Ugly Yet Beautiful World, He Is My Master) directing and editing the series scripts and Ikuo Kuwana (Street Fighter Alpha: Generations) designed the characters. The first 12 episode series was released in April 2012 and was followed by a second 12 episode series called Medaka Box Abnormal in October 2012.

The series was streamed on Crunchyroll and licensed by Sentai Filmworks in North America.

Image © 2012 NISIOSIN, Akira Akatsuki / SHUEISHA, MEDAKA BOX Committee

Nekomonogatari (Black)

Koyomi Araragi is a student who has recently survived a vampire attack, with the help of his friend Tsubasa Hanekawa. Now Koyomi finds that Tsubasa has been possessed by an oddity called the Curse Cat and is attacking people, including her parents. Koyomi must now find a way to help Tsubasa get rid of the Curse Cat.

Nekomonogatari (Black) adapts the sixth novel in NisiOsin's Monogatari series "Nekomonogatari (Kuro)" following Koyomi and his adventures with the supernatural and is a prequel to Bakemonogatari.

Nisemonogatari director Akiyuki Shinbo returns as the anime's general director and Nisemonogatari series director Tomoyuki Itamura directed at studio SHAFT. Shinbo and Fuyashi Tou were in charge of the series scripts and Akio Watanabe served as character designer and chief animation director.

Hanabee previously released the other components of "season one" of Monogatari (Bakemonogatari and Nisemonogatari) in 2013 on DVD and Blu-ray. Nekomonogatari (Black) is the end of "season one" with Monogatari Series Second Season aka "season two" being screened from July 2013.