As we get closer to April, we’re set to arrive on the cusp of a new season of premiering anime, with some being promising new original series while others are highly anticipated sequels to existing properties or adaptations of popular games and books. Of the many new series debuting this spring, Appare-Ranman! seems like a standout, sporting a gorgeous art style and unique premise. It’s around this time that we start to learn of all of the anime that various English streaming services plan to license and exclusively broadcast, and today we learn that Funimation has gotten their hands on this promising new wild west racing anime.
While Appare-Ranman! is set to debut on Japanese television channels like Toko MX on April 10th, the series will be available through Funimation overseas around the same time. Fans can expect to watch it with Japanese audio and English subtitles on day one, but a full English dub for the series is also planned to drop while it’s airing weekly on the streaming service.
In other news for the upcoming racing series, we’ve also learned that the trio Mia REGINA is set to perform the opening theme song for Appare-Ranman!, titled “I got it!’ The ending theme song, meanwhile, will be performed by Showtaro Morikubo. The racing series is also set to get a manga adaptation in Kadokawa’s Young Ace magazine on April 3rd. Ahndongshik, the character designer of the anime, is set to illustrate the manga.
Appare-Ranman! takes place at the end of the 19th century. An awkward accident forces the socially inept engineer Sorano Appare and the cowardly samurai Isshiki Kosame onto a tiny boat drifting toward America. When the two arrive on new soil, they decide to participate in the Trans-America Wild Race in order to win the prize money so they can afford to return to Japan. The two of them clash with wild rivals, crazy outlaws, and the cruelty of nature itself as they speed through the Wild West and race from Los Angels all the way to New York in a self-built steam-powered car.
P.A. Works is producing Appare-Ranman!, with Takeshi Kikuchi and Daijo Kudo credited as project planners. The original story concept, meanwhile, is credited to APPERRACING. Masakazu Hashimoto, director of Tari Tari and various Crayon Shin-chan films, is set to direct the series. He’ll also be supervising the series scripts and have a credit for working on the original story drafts. Yurie Oohigashi is set to be the character designer, adapting original designs by Ahndongshik, who previously worked on Gagoze. Oohigashi will also be the chief animation director, while Shiho Takeuchi handles mechanical designs.
