Girls Und Panzer
Good news for manga fans with a bit more of a military mind, or at least the trappings thereof, as Seven Seas Entertainment has announced a trio of new titles today for launch in 2014 that will be near and dear to their hearts. Set for a few different releases, we’ve got the details below on Strike Witches, Girls und Panzer and Arpeggio of the Blue Steel. All of them also have anime adaptations, with the latter due up this year, making them ripe for crossover appeal and cross promotion with the North American anime license holders.
Seven Seas Launches on Air, Land, and Sea!
(LOS ANGELES, July 15, 2013) – Seven Seas Entertainment is delighted to announce a trio of military-themed manga series, each focusing on a different aspect of combat. The three licenses are Strike Witches, which zeroes in on aerial dogfights, Girls und Panzer which targets terrestrial tank battles, and Arpeggio of Blue Steel, which spotlights submarine and battleship duels. All three action-packed series are slated for publication in 2014.
Strike Witches (story by Shimade Fumikane, art by Tanaka Yuuki)
Strike Witches reimagines World War II as a confrontation between allied human forces and invading aliens, pitting super-powered human girls against alien aircraft. Strike Witches combines the popular “dieselpunk” genre with moe-styled characters.
Strike Witches has become a massive franchise, spanning novels, manga, video games, anime and other merchandising. The franchise has received two anime seasons, along with a movie that premiered in Japan last year. North American anime distributor FUNimation has released both seasons on home-video.
Strike Witches: Maidens in the Sky Vol. 1 will be released in February 2014. Volume 2 will follow in April 2014, and further related titles in the Strike Witches franchise will be released in summer and fall.
Girls und Panzer (story by Seisaku Iinkai, art by Saitaniya Ryouichi)
Girls und Panzer is part military tactics, part cute-girls-doing-cute-things…
Girls und Panzer has been adapted into an anime, which aired last fall in Japan and is currently streaming on Crunchyroll. In addition, Sentai Filmworks licensed the anime and will release it on home-video later this year. The anime has also spawned a theatrical animated film, which is set to debut in 2014.
Seven Seas will publish the first volume of the Girls und Panzer manga series in June 2014, with volume two to follow in September 2014.
In Fall, 2014, Seven Seas will launch the series prequel Girls und Panzer: Little Army.
Arpeggio of Blue Steel (story & art by Ark Performance)
Arpeggio of Blue Steel is set in the near-future, where humans must wage a war of survival against a mysterious invading force whose battleships are sentient girls. Humanity’s only hope is to launch its own sentient superweapon: a girl able to transform into a deadly submarine.
Arpeggio of Blue Steel, known in Japan as Aoki Hagane no Arpeggio, has recently received an anime adaptation, which is currently in production from renowned animation-studio SANZIGEN.
Arpeggio of Blue Steel is a beautiful, yet stark manga that displays humanity’s courage against overwhelming odds, and is sure to appeal to fans of Attack on Titan.
Volume 1 of Arpeggio of Blue Steel will be released in July 2014 and volume 2 will follow in October 2014.