Sentai Filmworks is sliding out another show onto Hulu ahead of the home video release with The World is Still Beautiful. Set for release on DVD and Blu-ray in October, sadly in Japanese only, they’ve now brought the twelve episode series to Hulu in full in that form. Those that subscribe to Hulu get to watch this show in HD on their TV, mobile and computer as an added perk.
The series was directed by Hajime Kamegaki who has handled a couple of feature films as well as Fushigi Yugi OVA’s and several TV episodes, a number of Lupin the 3rd specials and served as an episode director for part of Magic Knight Rayearth. Character designer for the series will be Ichiro Uno, whose most reecntly work has been in the new Hajime no Ippo series as doing key animation for the opening and first episode. Largely working in key animation side of many shows for the past decade, this is his first full character design job.
Based on the manga series that began in 2011 after a pair of one-shots by Dai Shiina, it’s been running in Hana to Yume and has ten volumes out so far in Japan. The manga has not been picked up for North American release.
Plot concept: Based off of the manga Soreseka by Dai Shiina, The World is Still Beautiful is a fantasy romancethat centers on Nike Lemercier, the fourth princess of the Rain Dukedom with the unique power to call forth the rain. After losing a game of rock, paper, scissors with her sisters, she has tomarry the king of the Sun Kingdom, Livius I. Upon meeting him, she discovers he is still a child, despite conquering the world in only three years before ascending to the throne. Although they are total strangers at first, they soon grow to understand and develop an emotional bond with one another.
