To this day, there are some anime franchises that have remained timeless thanks to their gorgeous artwork and riveting stories that resonate despite the era in which they were released. Ghost In The Shell, Cowboy Bebop, Fullmetal Alchemist, Mobile Suit Gundam, and Neon Genesis Evangelion are a handful of examples of anime that have stood the test of time. While not mentioned nearly as often as the aforementioned franchises, Kite and Mezzo Forte had brutal and mature anime adaptations that gained some serious notoriety. Now, Studio Shaft is working on a new anime project dubbed Virgin Punk, bringing on character designer Yasuomi Umetsu to help forge the story.
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While the new project kicked off the recent Aniplex Online Festival, there are still scant details surrounding Shaft’s upcoming project. Virgin Punk will arrive in 2025, focusing on protagonist Ubu in the year 2099. Taking on the occupation of a bounty hunter, Ubu is shown in the new trailer demonstrating her skills in the action-packed world. The official quote from Shaft regarding Ubu’s character reads, “Beaten down by repeated misfortunes, she became a mere shadow of herself.” Umetsu will do double duty in this upcoming anime, not just designing the characters but directing the anime as well. Unlike many other television anime series, Virgin Punk won’t be based on a previous manga or light novel series.
Virgin Punk’s Anime Details
The upcoming project will apparently be the “first part” of Virgin Punk, titled “Clockwork Girl”. As of the writing of this article, Studio Shaft hasn’t revealed what the future will hold for this new franchise. While many details remain a mystery, Shaft was more than happy to share the creators who are lending their talents to this new bounty hunting world arriving in 2025:
Director/Character Designer: Yasuomi Umetsu
Series Composer/Scriptwriter: Yuya Takahashi
Main Animators: Genichiro Abe, Shinya Takahashi, Maho Kando
Art Designer: Shinichi Yokota
Art Directors: Yuji Honjo, Yuki Funagakure
Color Designer: Yasuko Watanabe
Directors of Photography: Takayuki Aizu, Rei Egami
Editor: Rie Matsubara
Sound Director: Shoji Hata
Music: Yoshiaki Dewa (Hell’s Paradise)
Animation Production: Shaft
Where To Watch Virgin Punk’s Predecessors
If you never had the opportunity to catch the original Kite anime, it is currently available to stream on Crunchyroll. Unfortunately, in the case of Mezzo Forte, this series is unavailable to stream. Ironically enough, in Kite’s case, the property was given a lesser-known live-action movie that stars Samuel L. Jackson. This film is also available to stream on Crunchyroll, showing that the streaming service doesn’t only house anime series but live-action adaptations as well.
Aniplex’s Other 2024 Reveals
Aniplex Online Fest 2024 had a big line-up when it came to the anime world. On top of releasing a first look at Virgin Punk, the event also had some news regarding major properties including Solo Leveling, Sword Art Online: Gun Gale Online, Fate/Strange Fake, Rurouni Kenshin, and more. The event originally took to the internet to help spread the anime word to fans in 2020, introducing an online platform that could reach viewers during the coronavirus pandemic. Now that lockdowns have lifted and anime fans are attending conventions in person, this hasn’t stopped Aniplex from continuing the tradition and releasing major news regarding the anime world.
Want to see what the future holds for Vigin Punk and the Clockwork Girl? Follow along with Team Anime on ComicBook.com for the latest updates on the Aniplex Online Fest reveal and hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime.
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