There are a ton of potentially great series that will premiere in 2021, but for my money, the one that has the biggest chance to make a splash is the new SHAFT production, Pretty Boy Detective Club. In the wee hours of the morning on Friday, January 29th, the official Nisio Isin anime Twitter account posted an update on the upcoming series, complete with a premiere date and promotional video!
★第1弾PV公開★
TVアニメ『美少年探偵団』の第1弾PVを公開いたしました！また美少年探偵団メンバーのキャスト5名を解禁！2021.4.10 より毎週土曜 深夜2:00～
ABCテレビ・テレビ朝日系列全国24局ネット（『ANiMAZiNG!!!』枠）にて放送スタートhttps://t.co/nAebtDcxfP#美少年探偵団 pic.twitter.com/2ydOVY1B16— 西尾維新アニメプロジェクト (@nisioisin_anime) January 29, 2021
In the 60-second promotional video, we get introduced to all the main characters who make up the Pretty Boy Detective Club who solve mysteries at their school without taking a profit. You had better be certain that your problem is worthy of their skills though. We’ll get to meet them in detail starting on April 10th!
Also, as seen in the promotional video, were the cast announcements with the primary characters being played by (character names first):
Manabu Soutouin: Ayumu Murase
Nagahiro Sakiguchi: Taito Ban
Michiru Fukuroi: Toshiki Masuda
Hyouta Ashikaga: Shougo Yano
Sousaku Yubiwa: Gen Sato
The crew will be made up of animation studio SHAFT, with Akiyuki Simbo returning to serve as supervising director. Hajime Otani will be the director, and Hiroki Yamamura will provide the anime character designs.
Originally a novel series written by Nisio Isin and illustrated by Kinako, the original series ran for eleven volumes from 2015 to 2019. A manga adaptation ran for five volumes from 2016 to 2019. The novels and manga are being released in English by Kodansha, with the third volume of the novels hitting in March 2021, while they will release the first manga omnibus in July 2021. Kodansha describes the story as:
The Pretty Boy Detective Club, a mysterious organization that’s rumored to solve problems at Yubiwa Academy….
Manabu the Aesthete, lover of beauty
Michiru the Epicure, he of the beautiful palate
Hyota the Adonis, he of the beautiful legs
Nagahiro the Orato, he of the beautiful voice
Sosaku the Artiste, creator of beauty
To search for a star she glimpsed ten years ago, second-year student Mayumi Dojima calls on these five Pretty Boys to help her solve the case! Which Pretty Boy is your favorite?
As I’ve stated previously, I am nutso excited about watching this series. I’ve enjoyed most of the Nisio Isin anime adaptations that I’ve seen so far, and having Akiyuki Simbo as supervising director fills me with fresh confidence about the Pretty Boy Detective Club. The only thing that promotional video was missing was a head tilt!
Sources: Mantan Web, A.I.R. on Twitter, Crunchyroll News
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