The characters Mary and Sakuya inhabit The World R:X in .hack//QUANTUM. © 2011 .hack Conglomerate?© Quantum Project

Source: FUNimation Entertainment press releases Official Sites: hack.channel.or.jp/quantum and guilty-crown.jp (Japanese) Special Thanks to Jackie Smith

Key art for .hack//QUANTUM. Image courtesy of FUNimation Entertainment. © 2011 .hack Conglomerate?© Quantum Project

Distributor FUNimation Entertainment recently announced that it has acquired North American rights to the action fantasy .hack//QUANTUM and the sci-fi series GUILTY CROWN. .hack//QUANTUM (?????? ?????, Dotto Hakku Kuwantamu, 2010) is the latest installment in the .hack franchise from Showgate. An anime adaptation of the .hack role-playing games created by Bandai Namco Games, this three episode OVA is animated by Kinema Citrus Studio and directed by Masaki Tachibana (TOKYO MAGNITUDE 8.0). Tobias, Mary, and Sakuya are way into the world’s largest online fantasy role-playing game known as The World R:X. Together, they form an inseparable group, grinding toward the break of day and running dungeons in search of the artifacts of adventure. But when the trio becomes lost in this virtual labyrinth, a chance encounter with the mysterious entity known only as Hermit will change their lives forever. There’s an eerie darkness spreading across The World, and once you stumble in, you may never make it out. FUNimation Entertainment`s license for .hack//QUANTUM includes home entertainment, theatrical, broadcast, digital, mobile and merchandise rights. The OVA will be released in early 2012. For more information, please visit FUNimation.com/hackquantum.

Key art for GUILTY CROWN. © 2011 Guilty Crown Committee

GUILTY CROWN (????????, Giruti Kuraun, 2011) is debuting on Fuji TV’s late night noitaminA block in October. The Production I.G. produced series is directed by Tetsuro Araki (DEATH NOTE, HIGH SCHOOL OF THE DEAD). The series script supervisor is Hiroyuki Yoshino (MACROSS FRONTIER), while original character designs are created by redjuice, the artist best known as the illustrator for the music group, Supercell. Supercell`s musician, Ryo, is composing the music. The anime is set in Japan in 2039, 10 years after the "Apocalypse Virus" devastated the land. A multinational orgnization known as GHQ brings the lawless country under control, but at the price of Japan`s sovereignty. One day, an unsociable 17-year-old high school student named Sh? encounters Inori Yuzuriha, a female singer who is part of the resistance to liberate Japan. Together with Gai Tsutsugami (Sh?`s 17-year-old rival who is a young "Jiikund?" pilot in the resistance), Sh? and Inori fight with mysterious innate abilities known as "imperial powers." New York Anime Fest will screen the first two episodes of GUILTY CROWN on Saturday, October 15. The screening marks the world premiere of the series` second episode, which won`t air in Japan until October 20. The convention will host an additional screening of the first two episodes of GUILTY CROWN along with a Q&A/focus panel on Sunday, October 16. FUNimation Entertainment has acquired the simulcast, home entertainment, broadcast, digital, mobile, and merchandise rights to GUILTY CROWN, and will simulcast the series starting Thursday, October 13... the same date as its Japanese broadcast debut. For more information, please visit FUNimation.com/guilty-crown.

Singer Inori Yuzuriha. © 2011 Guilty Crown Committee

About FUNimation Entertainment

FUNimation Entertainment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Navarre Corporation, is the leading company for home video sales of Japanese animation in the United States. FUNimation has a proven formula for launching and advancing brands, and manages a full spectrum of rights for most of its brands including broadcasting, licensing, production, internet, and home video sales and distribution. For more information about FUNimation Entertainment and its brands, visit funimation.com.