Announcing the pickup in November with planned February 2017 release on home video, Funimation is now streaming the first four episodes of Wolf’s Rain in its English language form on their service. It’s expected that the subtitled episodes will show up eventually on Crunchyroll through the recently established partnership that splits the languages.
Funimation revealed back in November 2016 that they’ve worked closely with the licensor on the up-conversion from standard definition to high definition in-house as there is no Japanese high definition release and it’s from the time period where the way anime was produced has made it so that a number of shows can’t be done in native HD.
The series originally aired in 2003 and saw a Toonami broadcast in 2004. The show was directed by Tensai Okamura based on the script by Keiko Nobumoto and featured character designs by Toshihiro Kawamoto. Animation production was headlined by BONES.
The Japanese cast includes Akio Suyama as Hige, Hiroki Shimowada as Toboe, Kaho Kouda as Cher Degre, Kenta Miyake as Tsume and Mamoru Miyano as Kiba. The English language adaptation was produced by Animaze with ADR director Mary Elizabeth McGlynn with David Fleming handling translations and Lia Sargent working with McGlynn on the ADR scripts. The main cast includes Crispin Freeman as Tsume, Johnny Yong Bosch as Kiba, Joshua Seth as Hige, Kari Wahlgren as Cher Degre and Mona Marshall as Toboe.
Plot concept: Paradise—a legend, a myth, and a hopeless dream in a world that has become a wasteland. It is not meant for everyone, only the wolves thought to be extinct yet still roam the lands. When the Flower Maiden awakens, the path to the end will open.
Kiba, a lone white wolf, wanders into a poverty stricken city on a quest. The scent of Lunar Flowers and the will to find Paradise is all he has. Along the way, he runs into other outcast wolves—Tsume, Hige, and Toboe, each with their own story and troubles. Fate bringing them together, they seek out the Flower Maiden, Cheza, and their way to Paradise. But, doing so is no simple matter. Up against a world that fears them and a man with mysterious abilities, their journey is overrun with challenges and worse—sacrifices. With limited time, they must fight to protect Cheza against everyone who seeks her and discover the hidden path to their destiny.
This group of broken souls will form a pack and take their journey to the doors of Paradise. But is it worth the end of the world?
