Southeast Asian anime channel ANIPLUS Asia has announced on Wednesday that they have acquired the rights of the anime film adaptation of Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend.
The anime channel has not announced specific details about the anime film’s upcoming screenings, but it is expected to be released in cinemas in Southeast Asia.
Saekano the Movie: Finale is the third and final anime adaptation based on the Japanese light novel series Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend, written by Fumiaki Maruto and illustrated by Kurehito Misaki.
The light novel was serialized by Fujimi Shobo, under its Fujimi Fantasia Bunko imprint, from July 2012 to October 2017 with a total of 13 volumes published. The popular novel has also inspired several manga spinoffs, a visual novel game, a spinoff novel, and two television anime adaptations.
In an interview last year, as reported by Anime News Network, Misaki revealed that the film adaptation will not be a compilation movie of the television series but a new work.
The anime film is directed by Akihisa Shibata, who served as episode director of the two previous television anime adaptations, with Kanta Kamei now serving as its chief director.
Light novel author Fumiaki Maruto returned to handle the film’s scripts, and Tomoaki Akase also returned to handle the film’s character designs, which is now produced by CloverWorks.
The Japanese voice cast from the previous adaptations that reprises their role in the anime film include:
- Yoshitsugu Matsuoka as “Tomoya Aki”
- Kiyono Yasuno as “Megumi Kato”
- Saori Onishi as “Eriri Spencer Sawamura”
- Ai Kayano as “Utaha Kasumigaoka”
- Sayuri Yahagi as “Michiru Hyodo”
- Chinatsu Akasaki as “Izumi Hashima”
- Tetsuya Kakihara as “Iori Hashima”
Saekano the Movie: Finale opened in Japanese cinemas on Saturday, October 26, which debuted at #5 in the Japanese box office. The anime film was released in 121 screens and earned JP¥136,362,600 (about PHP64.1 million) on its opening weekend.
The anime film is now in its fourth week in the Japanese box office, earning a cumulative total of JP¥483,039,290 (about PHP227.07 million).
The first season of Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend was aired on ANIPLUS Asia, within the same week as Japan, in Winter 2015.
The second season, titled Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend Flat, was streamed on Amazon Prime Video in Spring 2017 as a part of its deal with Japanese broadcaster Fuji TV to stream anime titles from its Noitamina block, which ended this year.
