Sentai Filmworks ACEN New Announcements - Upotte!, Cluster Edge, More!

Sentai announced several new shows at ACEN today:

Sentai Filmworks Adds Cluster Edge, Hakuōki, Upotte!! Anime

posted on 2012-04-27 19:40 EDT
Also: Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto TV anime

The North American anime licensing company Sentai Filmworks announced at its panel at Anime Central on Friday that it has licensed the Cluster Edge, Hakuōki, Upotte!! and Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto television anime series.

Sentai Filmworks will release both the 25-episode Cluster Edge television anime series from 2005-2006, and the three-episode Cluster Edge OAV series that was released in 2006 with the ninth DVD volume of the television series. Masashi Ikeda (InuYasha, Mobile Suit Gundam Wing) directed the series at Sunrise off of Tetsuko Takahashi’s (InuYasha, Turn A Gundam) scripts. The series revolves around Agate Fluorite, a transfer student to an elite school populated by sons of important families from all over the world. However, Agate also has a secret power that can create miracles. Sentai Filmworks will release the series and OVA with extras as a subtitled-only DVD release.

Sentai Filmworks will release the Hakuōki television anime series on bilingual DVD. The anime adapts Idea Factory’s Hakuōki Shinsengumi Kitan romance adventure game from Otomate, Idea Factory’s brand aimed at female players. The story of the game and its anime adaptation center around the historical Shinsengumi samurai group in Kyoto during the 19th century. Sentai Filmworks told ANN that it will release “all of Hakuōki that is out right now.” The Hakuōki anime franchise includes the 12-episode Hakuōki series, the 10-episode sequel series Hakuōki Hekketsu-roku, and the 6-episode Hakuōki Sekkaroku OVA series (the sixth episode will ship this June). The franchise also includes an upcoming prequel television anime series that will premiere this summer and two upcoming films that will premiere in 2013.

The Upotte!! original net anime (ONA) anime series is based on Kitsune Tennouji’s original manga of the same name. In the manga, a newly hired teacher discovers that the female students at his school all have excellent marksmanship skills — and happen to be anthropomorphized assault rifles. Iori Nomizu and Misuzu Togashi lead the cast as Funko and Ichiroku, respectively. (The students’ names reference the Japanese pronunciations for FNC, M16A4, and other guns.)

Takao Kato is directing the anime at the studio Xebec, and Naruhisa Arakawa is in charge of the scripts. Akio Takami redesigned the characters for the anime. Sentai Filmworks will announce the details of the home video release for the series at a later date.

Sentai Filmworks will release the 2006-2007 Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto television anime series under the name Intrigue in the Bakumatsu ~ Irohanihoheto. Yoshimitsu Ohashi (Sacred Seven, Witchblade) served as chief director for the 26-episode series, and Ryousuke Takahashi (Armored Trooper Votoms, Gasaraki) is credited as the original creator and series director. Sentai Filmworks will announce the details for the home video release at a later date. The series takes place during the final years of Japan’s Tokugawa era in the mid-19th century and follows Akizuki Yojiro, a mercenary whose sword has a supernatural power. Akizuki meets and helps out a traveling theater group who is looking to avenge the deaths of the parents of the group’s leader.

I’ve only heard of one of those shows, and have seen 0 of them. Interesting. Unless I’m reading it wrong, it looks like Cluster Edge is getting the shaft as Sentai has said that it is not getting a dub while Hakuoki looks to be “the chosen one” of the group as it is the only one that Sentai has announced a dub for in this release.

The pedigree of Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto got my hopes up, being related to Witchblade and some of the more “hard-core” mech franchises, but then I saw that it’s just another period piece from the end of the Samurai era. Rurouni Kenshin: Been there, done that, got the 3 seasons on DVD (though if it gets a dub, I’ll check it out) ;).

I’m aiming at Cluster Edge from those three.

I’m not sure how to take that description. “…Agate also has a secret power that can create miracles.” What does that even mean?

Other than that cryptic statement, Cluster Edge does sound similar to IS…a dude-only IS.

I’m still feeling brutalized over David Williams’ admission that he doesn’t care to go back and dub popular sub-only releases. It’s understandable, but brutal. It kills the idealism :frowning:

The problem is that if they do it too often, not only do they increase their chances of incurring a loss on a show, but they could also negatively affect sales of sub-only series. Right now, there are plenty of fans who will take a shot on the show either thinking they will never get a dub, or they like the show enough that they feel a purchase could push it towards getting dubbed later. If they re-release a lot of sub-only series with a dub later, people begin to expect it and may skip over a sub-only DVD they may have bought otherwise.

David Williams said he didn’t like to do it, but that doesn’t mean they won’t ever do it. They’ve already proven they are open to it for some shows, particularly very strong sellers, like Princess Resurrection, or shows that are picked up in other English language countries, like Clannad, Tears to Tiara, and Ghost Hound. Of course, the biggest difference right now is that they are dubbing a slim majority of their newer shows, so there are less shows to go back and dub.

On top of that, the shows that are left over are much more niche properties that likely won’t hit the sales point necessary to warrant a dub. Back in it’s early days, everything Sentai released was sub-only, so they had a lot more to look at. Bigger hits also didn’t have dubs either.

Is it just me or does all but Upotte!! sound like candy for Slowhand?

I was in the 2nd “camp” there, but after the Williams quote, I’m not as adamant as I was. David Williams also said, cryptically, that a hit title for Sentai only sells 3000 copies. So he’s telling me that my “vote”, my purchase, matters and doesn’t matter, at the same panel.

It’s tragic that the NA dub market couldn’t support the dubs for those shows alone, and had to get help from other countries. Good thing English and anime fans are worldwide.

If the hadn’t dubbed this, I wouldn’t have purchased it. The dub is excellent, I enjoy the show, but IMO the sub blows. There are many shows that I couldn’t get into because the sub blew, but once I heard the dub I became a fan as then I could get to the inherent goodness of the show. All 4 of those shows you listed fall into that category.


[size=16]Yay! for Upotte!![/size]

Don’t know the others, but I’ll watch them when they show up on TAN


No Hyouka.

I kind of thought that would be the case, but I was still hoping.

If Upotte!! does get a dub release, just think of all those adorable accents they’ll get. Ooo la la…

When/if Upotte makes it to TAN I’ll check it out. I’ve been holding off watching it on Crunchy, but I might give in to temptation and try it there if Sentai takes too long bringing it here :wink:

With a dub, Upotte has promise of being an even more hilarious, ROFL-inducing show than Infinite Stratos was. I think that says something.

Well, I can’t say that I share your tastes on this one. Your comment inspired me to look up this show, and I’m still laughing over the idea that the show is a BL series with a Japanese version of Jesus as the lead character.

I scooped ANN by like, 10 seconds!!!

Anyway, nothing I was interested in. Still glad I got to ask about Sentai and Crunchyroll.

Also, David Williams needs to slow down so I can understand what the new licenses are and not spell them completely wrong lol -_____-

I’m glad they aren’t making the mistakes ADV did by dubbing every piece of trash from Japan. Sentai to me is a lifeline compared to Funimation. It takes them like two years to release a show for kami’s sake.

Besides Upotte and Cluster Edge, I’m liking the haul here.

Discussion continues on http://theanimenetwork.com/component/option,com_kunena/Itemid,183/catid,4/func,view/id,111730/limit,10/limitstart,10/#115816.