Aniplex of America and Crunchyroll Announce Kiznaiver Complete Blu-ray Set Release

“This is an experiment to guide the world filled with wars to peace.”

SANTA MONICA, CA (November 1, 2017) – Aniplex of America announced on their Facebook Live show yesterday that they will be releasing the Sci-Fi anime series, KIZNAIVER, as a complete Blu-ray set with Crunchyroll later this year. The Blu-ray set will include textless opening and ending, collectible cards and box illustration by Original Character Designer, Shirow Miwa (Katsugeki/TOUKEN RANBU), and Blu-ray case illustrated by Character Designer, Mai Yoneyama (Sword Art Online). The Complete Blu-ray Set is currently accepting preorders and will be released on December 26th at RightStuf and the Crunchyroll store.

The original anime series, produced by acclaimed studio TRIGGER (KILL la KILL) and written by Mari Okada (anohana – The Flower We Saw That Day-), is a perfect blend of TRIGGER's signature dynamic style and Mari Okada's poignant and emotive storytelling. KIZNAIVER centers around Katsuhira Agata and his classmates in a fictional Japanese city called Sugomori City. After being selected for an experimental program, Katsuhira and his classmates are connected as “Kiznaivers” and now share each other's pain. In a 2016 review of the series, Anime News Network's Nick Creamer writes, “This was a show about people coming to terms with both their own feelings and the inscrutable feelings of those around them.” The title for the series is a play on words for the Japanese words for pain and bond or kizu and kizuna.

The Japanese cast stars Yuki Kaji (Magi franchise, Occultic;Nine) as Katsuhira Agata, Hibiku Yamamura (Durarara!!x2, Hell Girl) as Noriko Sonozaki, Yuka Terasaki (Your Lie in April, WWW.WAGNARIA!!) as Chidori Takashiro, Tomoaki Maeno (God Eater, BLEND-S) as Hajime Tenga, Nobunaga Shimazaki (Fate/Grand Order - First Order-, Eromanga Sensei) as Tsugihito Yuta, Rina Satoh (Blue Exorcist –Kyoto Saga-, Gurren Lagann) as Honoka Maki, and Misaki Kuno (March comes in like a lion, Durarara!!x2) as Nico Niyama. The English version was produced by Crunchyroll in association with Ocean Media Inc. with English voice direction by Karl Willems (Dragon Ball Z, Inuyasha).

About KIZNAIVER:
The story is set in Sugomori-city, built in a reclaimed land, which was once prosperous as a futuristic city.
Katsuhira Agata, a high school boy who is living in the city, has a strange body which can feel no pain at all and he doesn't know why. Before summer vacation, by the guidance of a mysterious girl named Noriko Sonozaki, he is chosen as a member of "Kiznaiver," a group of people who share pain. Then he finds his classmates who are also connected as "Kiznaiver," however, they originally belong to different groups that never got along.

Sonozaki says, "This is an experiment to guide the world filled with wars to peace." Following her words, they have to face various trials.

One summer story of boys and girls who have to share each other's wounds begins.

For more details on KIZNAIVER, please visit: www.kiznaiver.jp/en

KIZNAIVER Complete Blu-ray Set includes:

Kiznaiver_BD_Productshot
*Art subject to change

BD Features
Spoken Languages: Japanese & English
Subtitles: English
Aspect ratio: 16:9 widescreen
Episodes: #1-#12 (12 Episodes)
Number of Disc: 2 Blu-ray Discs
Total Run Time: Approx. 300 minutes
Rating: 13 UP

Bonus Contents
Textless Opening
Textless Ending
* Bonus contents are subject to change

Bonus Materials & Package
Collectible Cards Illustration by Shirow Miwa (Original Character Designer)
Box Illustration by Shirow Miwa (Original Character Designer)
Blu-ray Case Illustration by Mai Yoneyama (Character Designer)

Product number and UPC bar code
Title: KIZNAIVER
Street Date: 12/26/2017
SKU #: AOA-10801
UPC: 816546020750
SRP: $149.98
Retail Price: $119.98

KIZNAIVER Complete Blu-ray Set will be available through the official Aniplex of America retailers, including www.crunchyroll.com/store. For a list of our retailers, please visit: www.AniplexUSA.com/retailers

STAFF
Original Story: TRIGGER / MARI OKADA
Director: HIROSHI KOBAYASHI
Series Composition / Screenplay: MARI OKADA
Original Character Design: SHIROW MIWA
Character Design: MAI YONEYAMA
Animation Production: TRIGGER

English Version Production By: CRUNCHYROLL
In Association With: OCEAN MEDIA INC.
English Voice Director: KARL WILLEMS
English Adaptation Script: MARK MACDONALD
Blu-ray Production: ANIPLEX OF AMERICA INC.

CAST (Japanese/English)
Katsuhira Agata: YUKI KAJI / RYLAN STRACHAN
Noriko Sonozaki: HIBIKU YAMAMURA / NATASHA STRICKEY
Chidori Takashiro: YUKA TERASAKI / CAITLYNNE MEDREK
Hajime Tenga: TOMOAKI MAENO / LUCAS GILBERTSON
Tsugihito Yuta: NOBUNAGA SHIMAZAKI / SCOTT ROBERTS
Honoka Maki: RINA SATOH / LORI BACHYNSKI
Nico Niyama: MISAKI KUNO / KATRINA SALISBURY
Yoshiharu Hisomu: KOUTAROU NISHIYAMA / HANS WACKERSHAUSER
Kazunao Yamada: JUNICHI SUWABE / MICHAEL ADAMTHWAITE
Mutsumi Urushibara: MIE SONOZAKI / JENNIFER CAMERON

About Aniplex of America Inc.
Aniplex of America Inc. (Santa Monica, California) is a subsidiary of Aniplex Inc. (headquartered in Tokyo, Japan), a group of Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc. and a leading provider of anime content and music production and distribution in Japan. Aniplex of America has launched fan-favorite Blu-ray and DVD releases including Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works], Fate/Zero, the Sword Art Online series, Your lie in April, KILL la KILL, Bakemonogatari, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Blue Exorcist, NISEKOI, the OREIMO series, DURARARA!!×2, Magi series, Expelled From Paradise, The irregular at magic high school, and ALDNOAH.ZERO. The company's ever-growing line-up of shows include: March comes in like a lion, Blue Exorcist: Kyoto Saga, ERASED, The Asterisk War, OWARIMONOGATARI, KIZUMONOGATARI, Charlotte, Occultic;Nine, WWW.WAGNARIA!!, GRANBLUE FANTASY, Eromanga Sensei, and Katsugeki TOUKEN RANBU. In June 2017, the company launched the English version of mobile game, Fate/Grand Order, which quickly exceeded one million downloads. Based on the popular Fate series, Fate/Grand Order is currently available on iOS and Android.

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About Crunchyroll
Crunchyroll is the world's largest destination for anime and manga, boasting a global community of more than 25 million registered users and over 1 million subscribers. Fans connect through the most complete anime library including "Naruto Shippuden," "Attack on Titan," and “Dragon Ball Super,” events such as Crunchyroll Movie Nights, Crunchyroll News, and can purchase related merchandise through its online store. Through its app on game consoles, set-top boxes, mobile devices and more, Crunchyroll delivers content from leading media producers directly to viewers translated professionally in multiple languages. The service is available for free or through a premium offering that allows users to watch ad-free with access to simulcasts—top series available immediately after Japanese broadcast.

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