Following recently announced acquisitions of sci-fi rom-com Love Flops and isekai adaptation The Eminence in Shadow, AMC Network’s anime outlet HIDIVE, has announced three additional titles that will be available to fans soon: Management of a Novice Alchemist, My Master Has No Tail and Encouragement of Climb: Next Summit.
Premiering this fall, HIDIVE picked up exclusive rights to Management of a Novice Alchemist, the heartfelt fantasy anime series based on the light novel of the same name by Mizuho Itsuki.
Synopsis: Orphaned Sarasa just graduated from the Royal Alchemist Academy, and that means her longed-for life of elegance and riches is close at hand! As a graduation gift, her teacher gifts her a house to set up shop — but Sarasa’s dilapidated new digs are beyond far-flung. What’s a novice alchemist to do when they’re stuck in the middle of nowhere with a business to run and supplies to gather from a very dangerous natural world?
Whether it’s facing down frightening fantasy creatures or finding creative ways to attract customers, Sarasa has her work cut out for her as she achieves her dream of becoming the greatest alchemist around!
The series stars Kanon Takao (Yuri in Encouragement of Climb Season 3) as Sarasa Feed, Hina Kino (Kaede Kurushima in Steins;Gate 0) as Lorea, Saori Ōnishi (Aiz Wallenstein in Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?) as Iris Lotze and Nanaka Suwa (Yui in BOFURI: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense.) as Kate Starven.
Animated by Studio ENGI (A Certain Scientific Railgun T), the series is directed Hiroshi Ikehata (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood) with composition by Shigeru Murakoshi (I’m Quitting Heroing, Zombie Land Saga). Yosuke Ito (The Detective Is Already Dead; key animation, Pokémon XY) provides character design and serves as chief animation director.
HIDIVE also acquired exclusive rights to My Master Has No Tail, the anime adaptation of the manga serialized in Kodansha’s good! Afternoon magazine, for a fall premiere.
Synopsis: Throughout time, supernatural, shapeshifting tanuki loved playing tricks on humankind. One plucky tanuki, Mameda, is no different. But there’s one big problem. She wasn’t born in the days of yore — she was born in modern, more cynical times! How can she fulfill her mischievous tanuki destiny when supernatural hijinks are a thing of the past?
She finds an angle when she meets Bunko, a master of the Japanese art of rakugo, which uses storytelling to beguile its audience. Mameda is determined to use rakugo to cast a spell on humanity, but first this tanuki trickster must convince the no-nonsense Bunko to take her on as an apprentice.
This has been brought to life by animation studio LIDENFILMS (Call of the Night). It is directed by Hideyo Yamamoto (Cells at Work Code Black) with series composition from Touko Machida (Lucky Star). The series stars Hibiku Yamamura (Nanami Kuon in Ya Boy Kongming!) as Bunko and M.A.O (Yukari in Teasing Master Takagi-san) as Mameda.
And last but not least, HIDIVE’s exclusive rights acquisitions for fall announced today are rounded out by Encouragement of Climb: Next Summit, a new adaptation of the mountaineering manga of the same name in Comic Earth Star magazine.
Synopsis: Aoi Yukimura’s fear of heights won’t hold her back in the next adaptation of Encouragement of Climb! Joined by fellow mountaineering enthusiasts, including the spirited Hinata Kuraue and the other climbers they’ve met on their journey to great heights, Aoi and friends tackle tough challenges and conquer new summits while they embark on adventures throughout the mountain ranges of Japan.
Fans new to the franchise will get to know the world of Encouragement of Climb via a selection of compilation episodes that reintroduce fan-favorite characters and beloved moments from the series. Later episodes contain all-new stories that continue the tale of Aoi and her ambition to overcome her fears and achieve her dreams.
Staff and cast from past adaptations of this charming series have reprised their roles, including studio 8bit (That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime) and diretor Yusuke Yamamoto (Welcome to the N.H.K.). Yusuke Matsuo (The IDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls) provides character design.
The series stars Yuka Iguchi (Mako Reizei in Girls und Panzer) as Aoi Yukimura, Kana Asumi (Komari Koshigaya in Non Non Biyori) as Hinata Karaue, Yoko Hikasa (Mio Akiyama in K-ON!) as Kaede Saito, Yui Ogura (Kokoro in The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated!) as Kokona Aoba, Nao Toyama (Rin Shima in Laid-Back Camp) as Honoka Kurosaki and Emiri Iwai (Mei-Mei Xiang in Sword Art Online: Alicization – War of Underworld Part 2) as Koharu.
Future home releases of all three series will be distributed by and available from Sentai.
