An anime movie adaptation of Idea Factory’s visual novel Collar × Malice is in the works by Studio Deen, famous for their work on Log Horizon, Sorcerous Stabber Orphen, KonoSuba, and more beloved anime series made in the past couple of decades. The movie, which is split into two parts, is appropriately titled Collar × Malice Deep Cover, and for those new to this story, it’s pretty dark in tone. An event named the “X-Day Incident” doesn’t exactly suggest cute kitties and cotton candy.
The two parts are set to premiere in May and June of 2023. Until then, we have a gritty trailer with colorful characters and a potential yaoi scenario.
Studio Deen has set up a promotional home page and an official Twitter page to provide updates to eager fans. The original light novel Twitter page is still active, but that’s likely due to the upcoming anime adaptation. Regardless, there are a couple of visuals provided that fans may enjoy seeing.
The X-Day Incident & Missing Justice
Collar × Malice Deep Cover takes place in a much darker version of Japan, primarily in Shinjuku. The terrorist group Adonis has set about a plan to “revive Japan” by systematically killing corrupt individuals, such as members of the police force who have also committed crimes. The goal is to create a world of no unknown victims where criminals are punished accordingly. Adonis leaves behind a coin, and a roman numeral, at each crime scene.
The Special Regions Crime Prevention Office is formed to combat Adonis. Ichika Hoshino (voiced by Kaede Hondo) is a recent member, but this is under duress, as she is also a victim of Adonis. She was briefly kidnapped, and a collar that can inject poison directly into her bloodstream is fitted around her neck. Adonis ordered her to investigate itself or die. So she, an average police officer with a strong sense of justice, joined the investigation. She joins Aiji Yanagi (voiced by Masakazu Morita), with whom she has a mysterious connection.
Collar × Malice Origins
Collar × Malice first let loose the dogs of war as the aforementioned visual novel developed and published by Idea Factory under their Otomate brand. The game was initially released for PlayStation Vita on August 18th, 2016. A fan disc (Collar × Malice: Unlimited) was released on July 26th, 2018. Then the game was later ported to the Nintendo Switch on March 12th, 2020.
Besides anime, Collar × Malice also has a stage play to its name, proving how remarkable one visual novel can be.
For those in the mood for more of “might makes right,” the J-List shop has you covered. Hanachirasu is a hentai visual novel by Nitroplus with plenty of sword fights and intimate moments that should keep anyone entertained.
Are you looking forward to this anime adaptation of Collar × Malice? Did you play the visual novel beforehand? What would you do in Ichika’s precarious situation? Let us know in the comments below.
