Kizuna AI’s highly anticipated anime series Kizuna no Allele now has a trailer to get eager fans of the sleeping virtual goddess excited for a return of sorts. They’ll have to wait for its air date sometime in 2023, though. While the actual Kizuna AI sleeps as part of her ‘indefinite hiatus’, her loyal admirers will most likely enjoy seeing her in anime form.
Kizuna no Allele was first announced nine months ago at Kizuna AI’s farewell concert Hello World, 2022. At three hours, Kizuna AI’s concert saw her sing, send out announcements, and thank her legions of dedicated fans before bidding farewell before she went to sleep.
Kizuna no Allele features a delightful cast of characters who attend ADEN Academy, a large and highly advanced school for students who aim to become virtual idols and achieve their own dreams in the virtual world.
Kizuna AI herself appears as part of the lore, a virtual idol who gained incredible popularity and lit up the world. She won the ‘Lapin d’Or’, the highest honor granted in the Virtual Grid Awards, five years in a row. After leaving her mark on the world, and establishing an incredible legacy, she disappeared. Several months later, Miracle, a huge fan of Kizuna AI, entered ADEN Academy to become just like her idol. Together with her friends Quon, Riz, Noelle, and Chris, she aims to become a virtual idol like Kizuna AI.
Kizuna no Allele is presented like a slice-of-life school series, with plenty of fantastical elements that look almost magical, but this is likely all due to an advanced virtual reality system. There are plenty of comedic scenes highlighting a more light-hearted direction for the series. The characters have varied appearances and personalities, with Miracle being the idealistic and hyperactive innocent type, Chris may be quiet and reserved, Riz is sporty, and so on.
Miracle may be the leading character, since she personally holds Kizuna AI as her idol, and a scene is presented where Kizuna AI’s spectral image overlaps with her own.
A mystery surrounds Kizuna AI’s disappearance, adding an element of drama that fans of the virtual idol will likely follow for each and every episode, even if Kizuna AI herself only appears in person at the end of the trailer, suggesting that she might not have much screentime, at least at the start.
The main website for Kizuna no Allele provides some very interesting lore about the world, and extra information about the character. Images for the series are also posted for fans to look through, especially an entry for the main characters, while giving a potential group name for them: “Pathlive”. The site also shows alternate forms for the girls, listed as “visual change”, though this may not be what the form change is called in the series itself:
Kizuna no Allele is produced by Wit Studio and Signal.MD, with direction by Kenichiro Komaya, and Deko Akao writing the scripts. Shiori Asaka, and Niina Morita have designed the characters, and are serving as chief animation directors with Mizuki Takahashi. Go Sakabe will be composing the music for the series.
