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Sentai Filmworks Licenses WataMote Anime
posted on by Karen Ressler
North American licensing company Sentai Filmworks announced at Anime Expo on Sunday that it has licensed the WATAMOTE ~ No Matter How I Look at It, It's You Guys' Fault I'm Unpopular television anime series. The 12-episode comedy anime series is slated for home video release in 2014.
The slice-of-life gag comedy manga adapts Nico Tanigawa's manga that centers around Tomoko Kuroki, a girl who thought she would be popular when she went to high school. However, she was in for a rude awakening, for cruel reality is not like the otome games (romance games for female players) she played.
Izumi Kitta (Brave10, Cardfight!! Vanguard) will star as protagonist Tomoko Kuroki. Yūichi Nakamura and Kana Hanazawa will also co-star as Tomoki Kuroki and Yū-chan, respectively. Kitta will also perform the anime's ending theme song "Dou Kangaete mo Watashi wa Warukunai" (No Matter How You Think About It, I'm Not Wrong), while 16-year-old Konomi Suzuki (The Pet Girl of Sakurasou, Dusk maiden of Amnesia theme songs) will be collaborating with the "death pop band" Kiba of Akiba to perform the anime's opening theme song under the unit name "Konomi Suzuki n' Kiba of Akiba." The opening theme song will also be titled "Watashi ga Motenai no wa Dou Kangaete mo Omaera ga Warui!"
Shin Oonuma (Baka and Test - Summon the Beasts, Natsu no Arashi!) will be directing the anime at animation Studio Silver LINK from scripts by Takao Yoshioka (The Familiar of Zero, High School DxD). Hideki Furukawa (Date A Live, Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maidens) will be taking the role of chief animation director, and is also handling the character designs. Satoshi Motoyama will be the sound director, and Sadesper Record will be providing the music.
Tanigawa launched the manga in Square Enix's Gangan Online website in 2011, and Square Enix shipped the third compiled book volume of the manga last December. A four-panel spin-off manga launched in January, and Yen Press announced in March that it licensed the original manga for release in North America.
The anime will debut on Monday on the TV Tokyo station.
