The Blu-ray only release of the Schwarzesmarken series from Avex Pictures is moving right along and now a new piece of the puzzle has arrived. With the fifth volume released recently, the artwork has finally made its way to Amazon in small form as not even the official site for the series has the artwork yet. The twelve episode series is getting a six-volume release, two episodes per volume, that began on March 25th, 2016. The releases will be priced at 7,00 yen each. Check the chart below for the schedule and known extras.
The series was directed by Tetsuya Watanabe based on the series composition by Tatsuto Higuchi. Character designs were done by Shuuichi Hara while ixtl and LIDENFILMS handled the animation with SANZIGEN handling the CG animation. The opening song was performed by fripSide with the song being titled 1983-Schwarzesmarken.
The cast includes Kenichi Suzumura as Theodor Eberbach, Minami Tanaka as Katia Waldheim, Nozomi Yamamoto as Irisdina Bernhard, Yoshino Nanjou as Lise Hohenstein, Chika Anzai as Anett Hosenfeld, Kiyono Yasuno as Gretel Jeckeln, Emiri Kato as Pham Thi-Rang, Michiyo Murase as Sylvia Kschessinska, Kenta Miyake as Walther Krüger, Yukari Tamura as Beatrix Brehme, Ken Narita as Heinz Axmann and Manami Numakura as Kirce Steinhoff.
Plot concept: In 1983, the East German Army 666th TSF Squadron, “Schwarzes marken,” is a special-response force tasked with assaulting BETA forces. They specifically target Laser and Heavy Laser class BETA to disable their enemy’s immense firepower. This merciless team’s orders are given the highest priority, and they follow them so exactly that the 666th is known to ignore allied distress calls that would interfere with an ongoing mission, even if only for a moment.
| Volume | Date | Extras |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 03/25/16 | Original Soundtrack CD |
| 2 | 04/29/16 | Original Soundtrack CD |
| 3 | 05/27/16 | Original Soundtrack CD |
| 4 | 06/24/16 | Bonus CD |
| 5 | 07/27/16 | Bonus CD |
| 6 | 08/26/16 | Bonus CD |
[Source: Schwarzesmarken]
