Fena: Pirate Princess

New trailer and art for Crunchyroll and Adult Swim anime Fena: Pirate Princess

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Heave to! Crunchyroll and Adult Swim have joined forces to broadcast a new anime series called Fena: Pirate Princess that sets sail summer 2021.

Young orphan Fena Houtman is fleeing two fearsome fleets: bloodthirsty pirates and the dreaded English Royal Navy. They want something she’s the key to: a lost treasure beyond their wildest dreams. Fena places her trust in a steadfast crew of Japanese samurai as they try to outpace their foes while uncovering more about her family’s past.

Anime streaming giant Crunchyroll and Adult Swim (both owned by WarnerMedia) have created this original anime series under the direction of Kazuto Nakazawa (Days, Samurai Champloo) and with animation by Production I.G (Noblesse, Haikyu!!).

Nakazawa sought inspiration from shoujo manga to create Fena: Pirate Princess, quoted as saying: “It made me want to make an anime with a flavor of Shojo manga in it.” The story is all action and adventure, going on to add that “…it is basically a love story.”

In addition to Nakazawa as the director, Asako Kuboyama serves as the screenwriter, with the show’s music composed by Yuki Kajiura and produced by FlyingDog.

  • Asami Seto as the voice of Fena Houtman. A positive, cheerful orphan despite her traumatic past. Known for her pale skin and glowing silver hair.
  • Ryota Suzuki as the voice of Yukimaru. The introverted, katana-wielding bodyguard of the Houtman family. He is extremely protective of Fena.
  • Takahiro Sakurai as the voice of Shitan. This handsome, elite warrior can kill with his bow and arrow—or his looks. Though on the surface he seems aloof, he greatly values his friends.
  • Aoi Yuki as the voice of Karin. Raised by a family of blacksmiths, Karin geeks out over technology like her rifle, which she uses to great effect in battle.
  • Gen Sato as the voice of Enju. Kaede’s elder twin. They both use a spear and wakizashi in battle, they’re both friendly and mischievous, but Enju feels he’s more dependable than his younger brother.
  • Ryota Osaka as the voice of Kaede. Enju’s younger twin. They both use a spear and wakizashi in battle, they’re both friendly and mischievous, but Kaede feels he’s more manly than his elder brother.
  • Jun Osuka as the voice of Tsubaki. The oldest and most mature member of the group, he manages everyone’s wild energy. He’s also the cook, but when he fights, he uses a short ninja sword.
  • Shintaro Tanaka as the voice of Makaba. This mountain of a boy prefers fighting in close quarters with brass knuckles. When he’s not fighting, he’s kind-hearted and mild-mannered.
  • Manabu Muraji as the voice of Salman. An older knight who was once called “Salman the Onslaught” for being so deadly with a spear. He’s known Fena since she was a girl as he served the Houtman family for some time.
  • Hiroaki Hirata as the voice of Otto. Another older knight who served the Houtman family and possessed an intimidating nickname in his younger days—”Otto the Blitz” for his quick swordplay.

It made me want to make an anime with a flavor of Shojo manga in it.

Kazuto Nakazawa, Director of Fena: Pirate Princess

The team at Crunchyroll was also kind enough to share some artwork used in the development of Fena: Pirate Princess, including that of the major characters.

Fena: Pirate Princess will air sometime this summer dubbed in English on Adult Swim’s Toonami programming block, while Crunchyroll will stream the show in Japanese with subtitles.

Source: Crunchyroll press release

 

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