News

Kuma Holdings Licenses 2 'This Boy' Boys-Love Anime

ANN confirmed with CoMix Wave Films on Wednesday that Kuma Holdings has licensed Soubi Yamamoto and CoMix Wave Films' This Boy Suffers from Crystallization (Kono Danshi, Sekika ni Nayandemasu) and This Boy is a Professional Wizard (Kono Danshi, Mahō ga Oshigoto Desu.) anime. The company will release both anime as part of its Kuma Telefilms line.

In addition, Kuma Holdings is partnering with Sound Cadence Studios to provide an English dub for both anime. The cast for This Boy Suffers from Crystallization — under ADR Director and script writer Marissa Lenti; line producer Amber Lee Connors; ADR script prep Daman Mills; ADR engineers Jamal Roberson, Matt Grounds, and Ben Tehrani; mixing and mastering engineer Ben Tehrani; translation assistant Brandon McInnis; production assistant Howard Wang; and graphic designer Emily Fajardo — include:

• Ry McKeand as Tamari Ayumu
• Daman Mills as Onihara Koya
• Stephen Fu as Shiraki
• Derick Snow as Ono
• Emily Fajardo as Takehara
• Justin Green as Iimuro

The cast for This Boy is a Professional Wizard — under ADR Director Marissa Lenti; line producer Amber Lee Connors; script writer J. Michael Tatum; ADR script prep Daman Mills; ADR engineers Jamal Roberson, Matt Grounds, and Ben Tehrani; mixing and mastering engineer Ben Tehrani; translation assistant Brandon McInnis; and graphic designer Emily Fajardo — include:

• Howard Wang as Kashima Chiharu
• Alejandro Saab as Utsumi Toyohi
• David Wald as Zaou
• Chris Guerrero as Kurose
• Alex Jenks as Takamiya
• Megan Shipman as Kouyama
• R Bruce Elliott as Master

This Boy Suffers from Crystallization's story revolves around high school boy Ayumu Tamari (voiced by Shōta Aoi) who has an illness that makes him start to turn to stone when he's stressed. Since he couldn't fit in with his class, after repeating a year, he declared that he wanted to have a "sparkly youth" as well. To do this, he changed his hair and clothes to be more fashionable, and constantly checked for popular topics to stay in the know. In the midst of Ayumu's life of making a facade, his homeroom teacher and stone-loving geology teacher Kōya Onihara (Daisuke Hirakawa) says that Ayumu's stone transformation is beautiful. Ayumu begins to become attracted to Kōya, who starts to give him advice.

This Boy is a Professional Wizard's story revolves around Chiharu, who is a wizard in charge of the magic department's crisis counter-measure division. His days are hectic, but he meets a candid young man named Toyohi at his favorite bar, and the two hit it off. On their way home, Toyohi suddenly confesses to Chiharu. Chiharu is at first bewildered at his unexpected confession, but he starts to fall into Toyohi's pace, and the two begin to spend more time together. However, after a mistake at work, Chiharu decides to devote himself to his work and pushes Toyohi away.

This Boy Suffers from Crystallization and This Boy is a Professional Wizard are the fourth and fifth project, respectively, in Yamamoto's Kono Danshi/This Boy series. Crunchyroll streamed both anime. Sentai Filmworks licensed and released both This Boy Caught a Merman and This Boy Can Fight Aliens! in North America.

As a 21-year-old, Yamamoto made her scriptwriting and directorial debut in 2011 with the first 28-minute Kono Danshi anime, Kono Danshi, Uchū-jin to Tatakaemasu. (This Boy Can Fight Aliens!). Her followup, Kono Danshi, Ningyo Hiroimashita. (This Boy Caught a Merman), was released in 2012. The third installment titled Kono Danshi, Akunin to Yobaremasu. (This Boy Is Called A Scoundrel) was released as a drama CD in 2013.

Thanks to Rukiia for the news tip.

Source: Kuma Holdings' official website, Sound Cadence Studios' official website, Email correspondence