Funimation is making history with its latest co-production announcement!
Revealed on their official blog, Funimation has announced that they will be teaming up with Yomiuri-TV Enterprise LTD to create the first anime in history to have a theatrical stage reading as its source material. The title in question is called MARS RED and it was created by playwright and theatre director Bun-O Fujisawa. The co-production will be mixed media, as a manga adaptation launched in Japan in 2019.
The series takes place in an earlier era (specifically 1923) and features a world in which humans and vampires co-exist. Oddly enough, lately, the number of vampires has started to increase and an artificial blood source called Ascra has appeared. It’s up to the newly formed government unit called “Code Zero” — made up of vampires — to hunt down and defeat the growing vampire forces. The unit, which normally handles things like information but has been reassigned to deal with the new menace, is made up of six vampires including the main character Deffrot, all of whom have various levels of experience.
Along with the basic plot information, Funimation also revealed the primary crew which will be bringing this series to life. Sitting in the director’s chair will be Kouhei Hatano (who will be making their debut as a full director). They’ll be working off scripts written by Junichi Fujisaku (series composition – Ace of Diamond, Appleseed XIII, Screenplay – Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex) and original character designs created by Karakarakemuri which will then be adapted for the anime by Yukari Takeuchi. Music is going to be composed by Toshiyuki Muranaka. Unfortunately, we are still unaware of which studio will be producing the animation or who will be filling the cast, but as soon as this information becomes available, we’ll share it all with you.
MARS RED is set to premiere at some point in 2021, so stay tuned over the coming months to get all the information about this property.
