Netflix continues aggressively pushing forward with its anime slate. The streaming platform made a series of announcements about Aggrestuko, Castleania and new series at the Anime Expo in Los Angeles this week. Here are some of the highlights:
Ultraman. Production I.G. and Sola Digital are working on Ultrama, an action drama series about the metal ultra-suit wearing man who possesses the spirit and DNA of the legendary crimefighting hero. Directed by Kenji Kamiyama and Shinji Aramaki, the series is slated to premiere on Netflix in 2019.
Kengan Ashura. Produced by Larx Entertainment, directed by Seiji Kishi and written by Makoto Uezu, the show centers on an ordinary 56- year old man who is summoned by the chairman of his company and hired as a gladiator. He learns that these hired gladiators engage in battles called “Kengan Matches” to protect the corporate rights of the businesses they represent. Kazuo Yamashita is assigned to battle a mysterious Kengan fighter named Ohma Tokita. Both men join the Kengan Zetsumei Tournament with the hope of winning the spot as chairman of the Kengan Organization.
Aggretsuko Season 2. Written and directed by Rarrecho, the series finds everyone’s favorite death metal panda back in action. Produced by Fanworks and featuring a character originally created by Sanrio, the creator of Hello Kitty, season two of Aggretsuko is coming to Netflix in 2019.
See trailer here.
Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle. Produced by Polygon Pictures and TOHO, based on a script by Gen Urobuchi and directed by Koubun Shizuno and Hiroyuki Seshita, this sequel offers an epic re-imagining of the Godzilla world in a futuristic setting pits humans and robots against the biggest Godzilla ever seen in an interplanetary struggle for survival.
Dragon Pilot (Hisone to Masotan).(Produced by Studio Bones, written by Mari Okada, directed by Hiroshi Kobayashi and Shinji Higuchi, the series focuses on a recently stationed Air Defense Force rookie Hisone Amakasu, who is chosen by a dragon concealed within Gifu Air Base to be his pilot.
Castlevania Season 2. The popular animated series inspired by the classic videogame series is directed by Sam Deats, written/produced by Warren Ellis, executive produced by Adi Shankar, Fred Seibert and Kevin Kolde. The dark medieval fantasy follows the last surviving member of the disgraced Belmont clan, trying to save Eastern Europe from extinction at the hand of Vlad Dracula Tepes himself. Trevor Belmont, last survivor of his house, is no longer alone, and he and his misfit comrades race to find a way to save humanity from extinction at the hands of the grief-maddened Dracula and his sinister vampire war council. Second season stars Richard Armitage, James Callis, Matt Frewer, Graham McTavish, Alejandra Reynoso and Tony Amendola.
Season 2 will debut on October 26, 2018.
Cannon Busters. Created, directed and exec produced by LeSean Thomas, this comedy adventure fantasy follows the adventures of S.A.M, a high-end, royal-class friendship droid who’s joined by a quirky, discarded maintenance robot and a brash, deadly fugitive. Together, the unlikely trio embarks on an unforgettable journey in a fantastic and dangerous world in search of S.A.M’s best friend, the heir to a powerful kingdom under siege. Produced by Manga Entertainment Ltd, Nada Holdings and Satelight (Macross Delta), the show’s writing team includes Thomas, Natasha Allegri (Bee & Puppycat), Anne Toole (The Witcher) and Nilah Magruder (M.F.K.).
Cannon Busters will launch on Netflix on April 1, 2019.
