Anime producer and distributor Right Stuf, and more specifically its Nozomi Entertainment division have announced the Rental Magica Part 1 DVD set will be available from their store on the 7th August 2012. This new value-priced DVD set will offer the first 12 episodes of Rental Magica in both broadcast order as seen on Japanese television and the chronological order according to the timeline presented in the novels that served as the series inspiration. This will be housed in a single DVD keepcase.
Written by Makoto Sanda and illustrated by pako, the Rental Magica novel series currently spans more than 21 volumes and was named “Best Action Story” by Japanese fans as part of the 2007 Light Novel Awards. It debuted in 2004, and it was serialized in Kadokawa Shoten’s magazine The Sneaker, alongside the novels that inspired The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and Trinity Blood anime series. Manga interpretations of Rental Magica also appeared in the shoujo (girls’) anthology Asuka and the shounen (boys’) anthology Comp Ace.
Rental Magica’s anime adaptation features direction by Itsuro Kawasaki (Sengoku Basara, The Legend of the Legendary Heroes), series composition by Mamiko Ikeda (Emma: A Victorian Romance, Maid Sama!), animation character design by Minako Shiba (Black Butler, .hack//SIGN), and animation production by ZEXCS (Our Home’s Fox Diety, Chrome Shelled Regios).
Its vocal cast is led by Jun Fukuyama (“Lelouch” in Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, “Lawrence” in Spice and Wolf, and “Sōta” in Wagnaria!!), Kana Ueda (“Yumi” in Maria Watches Over Us, “Rin” in Fate/stay night, “Mikan” in Gakuen Alice), Mikako Takahashi (“Amy” in Burst Angel, “Ayumi Yamada” in Honey and Clover), and Junichi Suwabe (“Archer” in Fate/stay night, “Greed” in Fullmetal Alchemist, “Takashi” in Highschool of the Dead).
This release comes in a lightbox DVD format and comes in at a SRP of $39.99 for 525 Minutes of content. This release only has a Japanese dub with English dubtitles. Special features include character bios, special promotional and commercial spots, clean opening and closings along with trailers of other Nozomi Entertainment titles.
Destroying supernatural monsters… dispelling dark magic… It’s all in a day’s work for the mages of Astral! However, after the mysterious disappearance of the company president, they’re left in a lurch. His son, Itsuki Iba, begrudgingly fills in, but Itsuki’s unfamiliarity with magic could spell bad news for Astral – especially with their rival Goetia vying for the very same contracts. As the jobs grow ever more dangerous, they soon find that staying in business is the least of their worries. Episodes 1-12 in both “broadcast” and “chronological” orders.
