Studio NUT Produces Bullbuster TV Anime Premiering in 2023

Kadokawa revealed on Friday that the Bullbuster franchise is getting a television anime adaptation that will premiere in 2023.

The franchise will have a stage presentation at the Kitakyushu Pop Culture Festival event on November 27.

Film director Hiroyuki Nakao and P.I.C.S. are credited with the planning and original work. Manga creator Eisaku Kubonouchi (Carole & Tuesday original character design) is the original character designer. Hiroyasu Aoki (Hero Mask director) is directing the anime and is in charge of the series scripts at NUT. Takahisa Katagiri (animation director for FLCL Progressive, Hero Mask) is adapting Kubonuouchi's designs for animation, and is also the chief animation director. Junji Okubo (Overlord monster design) is the mechanical designer.

The anime stars: (from left to right in image above)

• Asami Seto as Arumi ikaidō
• Yūki Takada as Miyuki Shirogane
• Shinichiro Miki as Kōji Tajima
• Shōya Chiba as Tetsurō Okino
• Ken Uo as Kintarō Kataoka
• Taiten Kusunoki as Ginnosuke Mutō

In the anime's story, a young engineer named Tetsurō Okino who has developed the new robot Bullbuster is transferred to Hato Industries, a company that exterminates harmful animals. There, the company and its president Kōji Tajima are up against a mysterious lifeform named "Kyojū." As a small business that is always finding itself short on money, Hato must always account for every expense such as fuel and pilot labor. And of course, missed shots are not tolerated. The company is always stuck between their ideals of Kyōju extermination and the reality of the economy.

The franchise started out as a concept book released at the Comic Market (Comiket) and COMITIA events. The book centers on the concept of, "This is an economically legitimate robot hero story." Staff members on the project include Nakao, Kubonouchi, science-fiction writer Yūya Takashima, and Okubo.

Kadokawa has published two novels in the franchise. Nakao is credited with the original work, and Seiji Ebihara penned the novels.

Source: Press release