On Day 2 of Comic-Con@Home, Crunchyroll dropped its plans for this summer and boy, is it gonna be lit!
The Crunchyroll Industry Panel hit it out of the park. There were a ton of announcements — from hot new anime series to original productions to manga simulpubs (that’s manga published simultaneously around the world) to mobile games.
Crunchyroll’s Director of Events Adam Sheehan and Events Manager Lauren Stevens were keen to promote the streaming platform’s upcoming original anime. And why not? On a roll with hits like Tower of God and In/Spectre, they’re looking to keep the momentum going with three brand new offerings: EX-ARM, Onyx Equinox and So I’m a Spider, So What?
An Expanding Roaster of Anime
‘Onyx Equinox’
Are you a fan of Avatar and The Legend of Korra? Then Onyx Equinox might just be the show for you!
The upcoming Onyx Equinox (Photo Credit: Crunchyroll)
Part of Crunchyroll’s expanding line-up of original anime, the story of Onyx Equinox is steeped in Mesoamerican culture and is about an ordinary Aztec boy who is forced into extraordinary circumstances by the cruel hand of destiny and the whims of gods. Now he must face fearsome adversaries and overcome immense odds as the “champion of humanity” in this epic tale of monsters and magic.
‘EX-ARM’
EX-ARM, based on the sci-fi manga series by the writer-illustrator team of HiRock and Shinya Komi, is described by Crunchyroll thus:
In the year 2014, a high school student who hates machines, Akira Natsume, wants to change himself for the better and tries to take the first step in doing that… But then he gets run over by a truck. Fast forward to 2030. A police officer named Minami Uezono and her partner, the android Alma, infiltrate the scene of a trade going on at Tokyo Harbor for an unknown weapon named “EX-ARM.” They are then attacked by an enemy armed with the “EX-ARM” No.08. Put in this life or death situation, they decide to activate the “EX-ARM” No.00 that they stole from the enemy, and…
The anime will premiere in Fall 2020, pushed back from its original July release due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
‘So I’m a Spider, So What?’
In lighter fare is the Isekai comedy anime So I’m a Spider, So What? Adapted from the Japanese fantasy light novel series Kumo desu ga, Nani ka? by Okina Baba and Tsukasa Kiryu.
So I’m a Spider (Photo Credit: Crunchyroll)
Here’s the plot: a regular high school girl reincarnates as a spider. Now she must survive and fend off ferocious monsters in her new nether world existence.
Other Anime Releases
Sheehan and Stevens also touched upon some of the new shows streaming on Crunchyroll this summer: the rom-com Rent-a-Girlfriend and action-packed original productions The God of High School and Gibiate.
Featuring the voice talents of Tetsuya Kakihara (Natsu in Fairy Tail), Yukiyo Fujii (Sailor Saturn in Sailor Moon Crystal), the story of Gibiate is set in post-apocalyptic Japan where people are getting infected by a virus (sound familiar?) and mutating into myriad monsters, a phenomenon known as ‘Gibia’.
Enter the dynamic duo of an Edo-era samurai and ninja! While unraveling the mystery of the Giba mutation, both work together to kick monster ass.
More Mangas, More Games
In addition to the anime release news, Crunchyroll also announced three new mangas coming soon to its simulpub service: sci-fi action manga ASHIDAKA – The Iron Hero by acclaimed character designer and artist Ryo Sumiyoshi, Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card by CLAMP, and The Ghost in the Shell: The Human Algorithm by Junichi Fujisaku.
These titles are now available.
The upcoming RPG Mass For the Dead. (Photo Credit: Crunchyroll)
In gaming, the panel highlighted the recently launched mobile RPG game MASS FOR THE DEAD. Based on the anime Overlord, the game features a brand new storyline, characters from the series as well as its original voice cast.
Watch the entire panel here:
