At Anime Expo ADV announced three more action-oriented anime licenses, Devil May Cry, Gurren-Lagann, and Kyoshiro. Kyoshiro, which finished its run on Japanese TV on March 23rd, is the oldest of the three series -- Gurren-Lagann debuted in
Of the three series it appears that Devil May Cry and Gurren-Lagann have the most potential. Devil May Cry is based on the Capcom videogame, which has sold four million units in its most popular iteration, and it is the kind of shonen supernatural saga (the half-human, half-demon hero Dante runs an agency that eliminates demons) like Bleach that has lately found favor with American audiences.
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann is the latest anime series from Gainax. The studio that created Neon Genesis Evangelion returns to the mecha genre with an innovative science fiction saga set in the distant future when mankind has been driven underground and is pursued by the alien Beastmen and their strange facially-enhanced mecha known as Gunmen (a pun based on the Japanese word for 'face'). Early fan reaction to Gurren Lagann has been positive with many among the hardcore American fans evidently happy that Gainax decided (at least temporarily) to switch from 'maid' comedies to mecha action.
Kyoshiro is based on a manga by Kaishaku, the creator of Steel Angel Kurumi and UFO Ultramaiden Valkyrie, both of which were made into anime series that ADV has released in the U.S., so ADV should have a very good handle on marketing this series, which blends copious amounts of shonen high school romance with mecha action, courtesy of the same sort of 'angel-mechas' seen in Steel Angel Kurumi.
