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Kochikame Anime Features in Ani x Para Program's Episode 4

The Kochira Katsushika-ku Kamearikouen-mae Hashutsujo (Kochikame) anime will feature in episode 4 of the Ani x Para: Anata no Hero wa Dare desu ka (Ani x Para: Who Is Your Hero?) anime program about parasports. The episode will debut on BS1, NHK General TV, E Tele (NHK Educational), and NHK's YouTube channel in mid November. A 30-second preview video for the episode is streaming on NHK's website.

The Ani x Para: Anata no Hero wa Dare desu ka anime shorts showcase athletes in Japan's parasports world, and the upcoming episode will focus on the sport of goalball. Goalball is designed for players with visual impairment, and it uses a ball with bells inside. Three-person teams throw the ball into their opponents' goal to score points. Actress Mariko Shinoda will voice the anime version of real-world goalball athlete Yūki Amaura in the episode.

LaSalle Ishii is returning to play Kochikame protagonist Ryōtsu Kankichi in the episode. Yumi Morio is also reprising her role of Reiko Akimoto from Kochikame.

Captain Tsubasa manga creator Youichi Takahashi is credited with the original work for episode 1 of Ani x Para: Anata no Hero wa Dare desu ka, and manga creator Eisaku Kubonouchi (Chocolat, Cherry) is credited with the original work for episode 2. Episode 3 was a collaboration with the anime adaptation of Hikaru Katsuki's Baby Steps manga. In addition to the Japanese versions, episodes 1 and 3 of the series are streaming with English subtitles on NHK's website.

Osamu Akimoto ended his original Kochikame manga in 2017. The police comedy manga centers on the crazy adventures of middle-aged policeman Kankichi Ryōtsu. The series inspired an anime special in 1985, followed by a television anime series in 1996. The manga also inspired anime films in 1999 and 2003, a live-action television series in 2009, and an anime special in 2016.

Sources: NHK's website (link 2), The Mainichi Shimbun's Mantan Web, Comic Natalie