The folks at Pied Piper, who previously run a crowdfunding campaign to get Time of Eve out, is now moving on to their next project and it’s a significantly larger one that will delight a lot of fans by bringing out something that has been sought after for awhile. Let’s just dig right into the details with their acquisition of Skip Beat! and their plans to crowdfund an English-language dub for it with your help!
Press Release:
San Francisco, CA – February 16, 2016 – Pied Piper, Inc. announces its acquisition of the North America DVD and Blu-ray license for the anime series Skip Beat! with an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign in March to enhance the release. In the 25-episode shojo series, 16-year-old Kyoko Mogami is devastated to learn that her long-time crush Sho Fuwa has been using her as a servant while he waltzes to stardom. She vows to beat him at his own game and joins a rival talent agency, and in the process transforms from a docile people-pleaser to ingenious creative talent. The anime’s riveting story arcs include Kyoko’s discovery of friendship with fellow actress Kanae (“Moko”) Kotonami and her tumultuous relationship with romance-challenged star Ren Tsuruga, who slowly leads her away from revenge and returns her to the path of love.
The Indiegogo campaign will run from March 1st through March 31st and will focus on enhancing the quality of the English dub, which will have Mela Lee (Rin Tohsaka in Fate/Stay: Night, Yuuki Cross in Vampire Knight, Shinku in Rozen Maiden) acting as executive producer along with Cristina Vee (Sailor Mars in Sailor Moon, Homura Akemi in Madoka Magica, Mio Akiyama in K-ON!) and Jason Charles Miller (Avatar: The Last Airbender, Final Fantasy XIV, World of Warcraft, Hellsing, and owner of Central Command Studios). Additional features to be added through stretch goals include behind-the-scenes bonus videos, an all-star voice cast and top creative talent for direction and script adaptation, and other surprise goals to be revealed during the campaign. The rewards include exclusive merchandise and experience-based tiers that pull back the curtain on the localization and dub production process.
Skip Beat! was produced by Hal Film Maker and aired on TV TOKYO from October 2008 to March 2009 and currently streams on Crunchyroll. The anime is based on the on-going shojo manga by Yoshiki Nakamura, published in Japan in “Hana to Yume” and in North America by VIZ Media. Pied Piper, Inc. licensed the anime from TV TOKYO.
Pied Piper, Inc. is building on its crowdfunding experience gained through the Time of EVE: The Movie Kickstarter campaign. Pied Piper, Inc.’s president Ann Yamamoto commented, “With Mela Lee, Cristina Vee and Jason Charles Miller on board to produce the dub, we have the team to knock this out of the ball park. However, the dub is the single most expensive element of the localization process, especially for a series with 25 episodes amounting to 600 minutes of material. I am profoundly grateful to the licensor TV TOKYO for allowing me to take this title directly to fans through the crowdfunding campaign. With the support of fans, we can create the dub Skip Beat! deserves with top-tier talent for cast, director and scriptwriting.”
On February 16, Pied Piper, Inc. is releasing a Coming Soon page for the campaign on Indiegogo (https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/skip-beat-anime-english-dub-for-north-america/coming_soon). The page will feature a sign up for the pre-launch Skip Beat! Host Committee email list. Those who sign up for the email list will be invited to preview the Indiegogo campaign page and will receive a digital download of Skip Beat! key art.
About Pied Piper, Inc.
Pied Piper, Inc. produced the Kickstarter campaign in 2013 for the international Blu-ray release of Yasuhiro Yoshiura’s Time of EVE: The Movie, which achieved 1,000% funding at over $215,000. The additional funding enabled Pied Piper, Inc. to expand the original Blu-ray release to include an English dub by NYAV Post, subtitles in 10 languages, cast and director interviews and audio commentary, director Yasuhiro Yoshiura’s short films, the original soundtrack, exclusive merchandise, and original artwork.
About TV TOKYO
TV TOKYO Corporation is a leading Japanese content producer and broadcaster with particular strength in animation, high-concept infotainment and business news. TV TOKYO has been the home of the hit animation series such as “YO-KAI WATCH”, “NARUTO”, “Yu-Gi-Oh!”, “BLEACH”, “Pokémon”, and “Beyblade”.
About Mela Lee
Mela’s standout roles include Rin Tohsaka in Fates/Stay: Night, Shinku in Rozen Maiden, Natalie in Scrapped Princess, Darry in Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Rena Ryugu in Higurashi: When They Cry, Yuki Cross in Vampire Knight, and Erika Karisawa in Durarara!!. She’s also known for voicing Meimi Haneoka in the TOKYOPOP dub of Kaitou Saint Tail. She and fellow voice actress/friend Erica Lindbeck host a Youtube series titled “Lindbeck and Lee.”
Mela is also an accomplished musician as the vocalist for the band Magnolia Memoir.
About Cristina Vee
Cristina has voiced over 100 characters in animation and video games, including Sailors Mars in Sailor Moon, Mio Akiyama in K-ON!, Alisa Bosconovitch in Tekken Blood Vengeance, Homura Akemi in Madoka Magica, Morgiana in Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, the eleven Honoka sisters in Netflix’s Knights of Sidonia, Cubone (and others) in Pokemon Origins and Riruka Dokugamine in Bleach. Beyond voice acting she has a large YouTube following for her singing. She provides vocals to songs in Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why’d You Steal Our Garbage!? and Shantae: Half Genie Hero. She currently casts and directs Skullgirls and is recognizable to eSports fans for hosting IGN’s IPL 4 and 5.
About Jason Charles Miller
Besides founding the internationally acclaimed rock band Godhead, Jason is the owner of Central Command Studios (Hellsing, Basura, Gun X Sword). As a songwriter or producer Jason has written theme songs for the Disney Channel, ABC Family, Geek and Sundry, Stan Lee’s World of Heroes and has had multiple song placements on HBO, SyFy, CBS and FOX. As a voice actor, Jason has appeared in video games including Star Trek Online, World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, Neverwinter, Super Street Fighter 4, Street Fighter vs. Tekken, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, Persona 4, and animated features including Avatar: The Last Airbender, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Code Geass, Yu-Gi-Oh, Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit, Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan, One Piece and Wolf Children.
Links:
Indiegogo Coming Soon page:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/skip-beat-anime-english-dub-for-north-america/coming_soon
https://twitter.com/piedinc
https://www.facebook.com/piedinc
https://www.instagram.com/piedinc/
https://jp.pinterest.com/piedinc/
http://piedpiperinc.tumblr.com/
https://twitter.com/TheMelaLee
https://twitter.com/cristinavee
https://twitter.com/jasoncharlesmiller
http://www.crunchyroll.com/skip-beat
