

Anime News Network's New York Comic-Con 2016 news coverage sponsored by Yen Press.

Anime News Network's New York Comic-Con 2016 news coverage sponsored by Yen Press.

Funimation Entertainment announced at its panel at Otakon on Friday that it has licensed the upcoming Monster Hunter Stories RIDE ON television anime series. Funimation will stream the series starting in October 2016. Funimation's license includes international rights to home entertainment, video on demand, and broadcast distribution. The series will premiere on FunimationNow in October and will stream for subscribers in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland.

The anime will air on Fuji TV on Sundays at 8:30 a.m. starting in October. Fuji TV is creating a new morning anime timeslot for the series for the first time in 10 years. The show is also airing in Hokkaido Bunka Hōsō, Sendai Broadcasting, Tokai TV, Kansai TV, Okayama Broadcasting, and TV Nishinippon. The show was previously listed at 48 episodes, with each episode being 30 minutes long.

The anime's official website describes the story:

Creating bonds with monsters, the rider's journey begins. This is a world where both men and monsters exist. Those who hunt the monsters are called Hunters. But in a small corner of the Hunter's world, there are those called Riders who bond with and coexist with monsters. With their Kizuna Ishi (Bonding Stones) that allow them to awaken the hidden power inside monsters, Riders live in secrecy together with their Otomon, the monsters they have formed a connection with. Ryuto, a young boy living in the Rider village of Hakum, dreams of becoming the world's best Rider. Having just turned 12, he sets out to find his own Otomon for himself before the ceremony where he is given his own Kizuna Ishi. Together with his kind-hearted childhood friend Shuval, his inquisitive childhood friend Lilia, and his partner Naviloo, he sets out deep into the forest, and has a miraculous encounter with a Rathalos. A story begins where a Rider and his Otomon will deepen their bond.

The anime stars (note: character name romanizations aren't official):

Mutsumi Tamura as Ryuto

M.A.O a Naviloo

Ryota Ohsaka as Shuval

Minami Takahashi as Lilia

Yui Makino as Ayuria

Tetsuo Goto as Village Chief Omuna

Tomokazu Sugita as Riveruto

Nana Mizuki as Shimonu

Junichi Yanagita, as Dan-sempai

Capcom is credited with the anime's original work, and Mitsuru Hongo (World Trigger series director, Battle Spirits: Shōnen Toppa Bashin director) is directing the anime at David Production (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure). Natsuko Takahashi (My Love Story!!, 07-Ghost) is writing and overseeing the scripts, and Takuya Saito (Macross Zero, Outlaw Star) is designing the characters. Male idol group KANJANI Eight will perform the anime's theme song "Panorama."

The series is the first anime based on Capcom's Monster Hunter game franchise, and is inspired specifically by the upcoming Monster Hunter Stories Nintendo 3DS role-playing game. The game will ship in Japan on October 8.

Funimation also revealed that it plans to release episodes 52-103 of the original D.Gray-man television anime series on DVD, and also plans to stream the episodes. Funimation had announced in June that it licensed the second half of the series. The original 103-episode D.Gray-man anime series aired in 2006-2008. Funimation released the first 51 episodes on DVD, and the first 26 episodes on Blu-ray Disc. The first 51 episodes are also available to stream.

Images Courtesy of Funimation Entertainment