The official website for the two-part OVA adaptation of Hobby Japan's Queen's Blade: Grimoire books began streaming a promotional video for the project on Thursday.

(Note: This video may not be safe for work.)





The video introduces the project's main cast:

Saori Ōnishi as Darkuser Alicia in Wonderland

Shizuka Ishigami as Demon Hunter of Little Red Riding Hood Zara

Yōko Hikasa as Demon Monkey Necromancer Seiten

Juri Kimura as Sorceress of the Mirror Snow White

The Blu-ray Disc with the anime will ship with the Kagami no Majutsu-hime Snow White (Sorceress of the Mirror Snow White) visual book on January 29. The bundle retails for 6,499 yen (about US$53). The episode bundled on the disc is titled "Kakusei, Akazukin no Makaryūdo" (Awaken, Demon Hunter of Little Red Riding Hood).

Kinji Yoshimoto (director for Queen's Blade: The Exiled Virgin, Queen's Blade 2: The Evil Eye, Queen's Blade: Beautiful Warriors) will return to the franchise as the OVA project's chief director at the studio FORTES, and he will also handle series composition. Yoshihide Yuuzumi (storyboard artist, key animator, and episode director for previous Queen's Blade anime) will direct the project. Rin-Sin (Queen's Blade: Rebellion, Queen's Blade: The Exiled Virgin), Takayuki Noguchi (Queen's Blade: Beautiful Warriors, Queen's Blade: Rebellion), Satoshi Urushihara (animation director for Queen's Blade 2: The Evil Eye), and Hiroshi Tsukada (Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero) are serving as character designers, and Masashi Suzuki (Utawarerumono, Hell Girl, D.C. II: Da Capo II) is writing the scripts. Urushihara and Tsukuda are also serving as chief animation directors alongside Yukiko Ishibashi (Queen's Blade: The Exiled Virgin, Queen's Blade 2: The Evil Eye).

The story takes place after the wandering warrior Leina's championship has ended. The royal court's magician Alicia uses black magic and opens a doorway to another dimension. From that door, a rabbit lures Alicia into another dimension called Melfairland. Melfairland is holding a tournament of its own to award out a Queen's Blade, and Alicia enters the tournament in order to find a way to return to her own world.

The first part of the two-part anime project was originally slated to ship this fall.

Thanks to Dennis R for the embedded video and news tip.