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World End Economica Project Streams Anime Promotional Video (Updated)

Game developer Spicy Tails started streaming promotional videos for the proposed anime film adaptation of the World End Economica visual novel game on Wednesday. The company's official YouTube channel streamed the original Japanese video as well as a Japanese video with Chinese subtitles and a Japanese video with English subtitles.

Spicy Tails also announced on June 20 that the project is getting a manga series adaptation by Haruichi Hashimoto. The project's official Twitter account is posting rough illustrations and short manga for the planned series, and the staff will reveal a release date for the main manga in the future.

The Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign for the anime of the World End Economica visual novel reached its 5 million yen (about US$45,680) goal on December 28. The campaign launched on November 14 and ended on January 4 having raised 5,919,682 yen (about US$55,208). The crowdfunding campaign raised funds for advertising fees to promote a proposed anime film adaptation of the game.

The anime project also has a Campfire campaign that has also surpassed its goal of 5,000,000 yen. The campaign ended on January 4 and has raised 19,234,500 yen (about US$179,384).

Visual novel publisher Sekai Project released the first visual novel episode of World End Economica on Steam in 2014, then launched a Kickstarter to localize the second and third episodes.

Sekai Project describes the story:

Written by Isuna Hasekura, the author of Spice and Wolf, World End Economica is a three-part visual novel set in the far future on the moon, 16 years after humans have begun to colonize it. A young boy named Haru has been chasing his wildest dream -- to stand where no man has stood before. To do so he needs capital... a ludicrous amount of capital. What better place to get that much money than by using the stock market?

Sekai Project announced in 2016 that it would release the game for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita in 2017. The release has been delayed, and Sekai Project stated in July 2019 that it is "in the process of finalizing the port." The company plans to release the game digitally via the PlayStation Network, and will team with Limited Run Games to release a physical edition. The release will feature all three chapters of the game.

The first episode of the game launched in Japan in 2011, followed by the second episode in 2012, and the third episode in August 2013.

Update: This article has been updated to add manga information and clarify that the proposed anime film for the project is not confirmed. The staff are still working toward their "ultimate goal" to produce the anime film, and the promotional video is promoting the proposed project. The previous Kickstarter campaign raised funds for advertising fees to promote the proposed project rather than for production of the anime film itself. Thanks, Sven Viking.

Sources: Spicy Tails' website and YouTube channel via Crunchyroll