Magical girl collaboration between anime studio & car maker already has net anime

Anime studio Gainax announced at Tokyo International Anime Fair on Thursday that it is producing a theatrical film version of Hōkago no Pleiades , its anime collaboration with the car maker Subaru, as its next stage in 2013.

The story centers around an afterschool club of magical girls who help recover fragments so that an alien from Pleiades can return home. The Pleiades is the English name for the star cluster that the Japanese call "Subaru" — the origin of the car maker's name and six-star logo. Subaru and Gainax streamed the original anime online with English subtitles.

The original net anime's staff includes director Shouji Saeki (Mahoromatic: Tadaima Okaeri, Strike Witches 2 episode storyboarder), concept artist and original character designer Daisuke Kikuchi (Gurren Lagann, Mahoromatic: Tadaima Okaeri), and character designer Mai Otsuka (Shakugan no Shana, Hanamaru Kindergarten). Also involved are art director Hiroshi Kato (Evangelion Shin Gekijōban: Jo/Ha, Gunbuster 2), director of photography Toyonori Yamada (Gurren Lagann, Hanamaru Kindergarten), and color key artist Chie Yoshimura (Chou Gekijouban Keroro Gunso, The Big O).