North American anime distributor Media Blasters revealed on Wednesday that it is producing an English dub of Rio - Rainbow Gate!.

Sound Cadence Studios and Fever Dreams Sound Factory will share the production, and Amber Lee Connors will be in charge of ADR directing and writing. Media Blasters plans to release the English dub on Crunchyroll and Blu-ray Disc.

Media Blasters licensed Rio - Rainbow Gate! in 2013, and released the series in a subtitle-only DVD set in 2014. The anime features a casino dealer named Rio Rollins (Marina Inoue) who has starred in several pachi-slo (pachinko parlor slot machine) games from Net and Tecmo.

In Rio - Rainbow Gate!, Rio is a popular casino dealer at the Howard Resort, an entertainment resort hotel where people from all over the world gather. She competes for the greatest honor among dealers — "Most Valuable Casino Dealer" (MVCD) — by collecting 13 legendary cards known as "Gates."

"The Goddess of Victory" Rio first appeared in 2003 in the Super Black Jack game franchise from the pachi-slo company Net. She was the brainchild of Net's collaboration with Tecmo ( Dead or Alive ) to create female characters. Rio's popularity led to several more games, including 2005's Rio Carnival , 2007's Rio Paradise , and 2009's Rio 2 -Cruising Vanadis- .

The anime premiered in January of 2011, and Crunchyroll streamed the anime into several countries as it aired in Japan.

Thanks to Adam Bocox, Peter J. LaPrade, and Rukiia for the news tips.