12-episode TV anime originally premiered in January 2019

Bandai Namco Arts announced on Saturday that director Tsutomu Mizushima and scriptwriter Michiko Yokote 's original television anime project Kōya no Kotobuki Hikōtai ( The Magnificent KOTOBUKI ) is getting a compilation film that will open this fall in Japan. The Kōya no Kotobuki Hikōtai Kanzenban (The Magnificent KOTOBUKI Complete Edition) film will also include new footage. The screenings of the film will include MX4D screenings.

The anime premiered in January 2019, and aired for 12 episodes. Sentai Filmworks licensed the anime, and HIDIVE and Crunchyroll streamed the series as it aired.

Sentai Filmworks will release the anime on Blu-ray Disc on February 4, and it describes the series:

In a desolate world where the safest form of transporting cargo is by zeppelin; air pirates roam the sky, preying on aerial commerce and holding remote towns for ransom. Against these airborne marauders, the only defense is to hire high-flying protection of your own, and that's where mercenary pilots like the girls of the Kotobuki Squadron come in. Behind the joysticks of their lightweight Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa fighters, these lady falcons play a deadly game of escort, where a single mistake can end up in a fiery crash or mid-air collision. But for birds of prey like Kylie, Reona, Chika, Emma, Kate, and Zara, the danger is worth it for the chance to spread their wings and soar into the heavens. The wild blue yonder gets even wilder as every dogfight becomes a catfight in THE MAGNIFICENT KOTOBUKI !

Mizushima ( Girls und Panzer , Shirobako ) served as both the director and sound director for the anime, with Yokote ( Shirobako , Prison School , Cowboy Bebop , Rurouni Kenshin ) credited for series scripts. Hiroyuki Kanbe ( Oreimo ) was the assistant director. Hidari ( Natsu-iro Kiseki , Santa Company , Phantom in the Twilight ) drew the original character designs, and Shou Sugai ( The Princess and the Pilot , The Sky Crawlers key animation) adapted those designs for animation. Shigeyuki Ninomiya ( Girls und Panzer , Shirobako , Kuromukuro ) is credited for military supervision, while Tetsuya Nakano , Hideyuki Kikuchi ( Vampire Hunter D ), and Jirō Tokihama are credited for military setting. Digital Frontier is credited for production, while GEMBA produced the animation. Wao World handled key animation production.

A smartphone game titled Kōya no Kotobuki Hikōtai - Ōzora no Take Off Girls! (The Magnificent KOTOBUKI: Take Off Girls of the Sky!) launched in February 2019. Author Muneaki Taoka and artist Tsubasa Sugie launched a manga adaptation in April 2019. A sequel novel shipped last June.

Sources: The Magnificent KOTOBUKI anime's website, MoCa News



Disclosure: Bandai Namco Arts Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bandai Namco Holdings Inc. Bandai Namco Rights Marketing Inc., another wholly owned subsidiary of Bandai Namco Holdings Inc., is a non-controlling, minority shareholder in Anime News Network Inc.