A new project was announced in November 2022 that’s going to get a lot of promotion behind it with an adaptation of Tow Ubukata’s novel Bye Bye, Earth. The original release, which featured artwork from Yoshitaka Amano, debuted in 2000 as a two-volume series and saw a re-release before the end of that decade as a four-volume edition. The news of the adaptation didn’t include any details about the project itself but noted it as a co-production between WOWOW, Sony Pictures, and Crunchyroll with plans for worldwide streaming in more than 200 countries.
With a July 12th, 2024 premiere date, the latest update comes from the Japanese side as the show was formally set for an April 4th, 2025 debut. With the show underway for its second part, I had missed that Crunchyroll brought out a subtitled trailer for it but have now corrected that below.
Yasuto Nishikata is directing the series with Sota Yokote assisting from scripts by Hiroyuki Yoshino. Yuki Hino is adapting the character designs with LIDEN FILMS handling the animation production.
The Japanese cast includes:
- Fairouz Ai as Belle Lablac
- Ami Koshimizu as Benedictine
- Junichi Suwabe as Sian Lablac
- Junya Enoki as Guinness
- Kōki Uchiyama as Adonis Kuestion
- Natsuki Hanae as Kitty the All
- Saori Hayami as Shelly
- Satoshi Hino as Gaf Shandy
- Miyuki Sawashiro as Doranvi
- Kenjiro Tsuda as King Lowhide
- Setsuji Satoh as King Lowhide
The dub has Lee George directing it from the adaptation by Jarrod Greene and Domonique French. The English cast includes Megan Shipman as Belle Lablac, Brent Mukai as Kitty the All, Daniel Van Thomas as Adonis the Question, Mike Smith as Sian Lablac, Brent Mukai as Haggis, and David Wilson-Brown as Ja.
Check out the official site and Twitter.
Plot Concept: In a world of anthropomorphic animals, Belle Lablac was born as the only human being. Having no fangs, fur, or scales, she was called “Faceless,” and she lived a lonely life with no one else she could identify with. “I want to be part of the world…” With such longing in her heart, she decides to set out on a journey to find her roots, carrying the Runding, a great sword as tall as she is. She doesn’t know how many adversities await her along the way… This masterpiece by the remarkable Tow Ubukata is considered to be his origin, and many have deemed it impossible to animate. But at long last, it will be adapted into anime form by the top creators that represent Japan!
Previous promos and visuals:
