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Encouragement of Climb: Next Summit Anime Gets Console Game
posted on by Egan Loo
The "Encouragement of Climb Next Summit Autumn Fes 2022" event announced on Sunday that the Encouragement of Climb: Next Summit anime has a console game in production. (The announcement describes the game as a "consumer game" — the Japanese classification for games for home consoles or portable game systems, as opposed to PCs or phones.) The game's theme song is "Hanauta•Step."
Encouragement of Climb: Next Summit is the new television anime based on Shiro's Encouragement of Climb (Yama no Susume) manga. It will premiere on October 4, and HIDIVE will stream the anime as it airs in Japan. HIDIVE describes the story:
Aoi Yukimura's fear of heights won't hold her back in the next adaptation of Encouragement of Climb! Joined by fellow mountaineering enthusiasts, including the spirited Hinata Kuraue and the other climbers they've met on their journey to great heights, Aoi and friends tackle tough challenges and conquer new summits while they embark on adventures throughout the mountain ranges of Japan. Fans new to the franchise will get to know the world of Encouragement of Climb via a selection of compilation episodes that reintroduce fan-favorite characters and beloved moments from the series. Later episodes contain all-new stories that continue the tale of Aoi and her ambition to overcome her fears and achieve her dreams.
The anime will have 12 episodes, each running for 30 minutes. This will mark the first time the franchise has had full-length episodes, as previous seasons only had five- or 15-minute episodes. The first four episodes of the new anime will be compilations of the previous anime series' episodes with new short stories added. However, episode five onwards will have completely new stories.
The returning cast members include:
- Yuka Iguchi as Aoi Yukimura
- Kana Asumi as Hinata Karaue
- Yōko Hikasa as Kaede Saitō
- Yui Ogura as Kokona Aoba
- Nao Tōyama as Honoka Kurosaki
Emiri Iwai plays the new character Koharu, the red-haired mountain-climbing club president at the school Aoi and the others attend.
Yusuke Yamamoto is returning to direct the anime at 8 bit, and Yuusuke Matsuo is returning as the character designer. Yuka Iguchi and Kana Asumi are performing the ending theme song "Tobira o Akete Bell o Narasō" (Open the Door and Ring the Bell."
Shiro launched the manga in Comic Earth Star in 2011. The manga's 20th compiled book volume shipped in Japan on April 12. JManga published some of the manga in English before the site shut down.
The manga has inspired several previous television anime. The first season debuted in 2013, followed by the second season in 2014. The third television anime season premiered in July 2018. Crunchyroll streamed all three seasons as they aired in Japan. The manga also inspired the Yama no Susume: Omoide Present (Memories Present) original video anime (OVA) in 2017.
The manga also inspired a stage play that ran at Hannō City Hall in Hannō, Saitama in May 2019.
Update: Typo fixed. Thanks, mewpudding101.
Source: "Encouragement of Climb Next Summit Autumn Fes 2022" event
