Funimation Entertainment has announced that it has acquired rights to the 26-episode ninja-themed Nabari no Ou anime series from D. Rights Inc.  Produced by J.C. Staff, the Nabari no Ou anime, which is based on a shonen manga by Yukhi Kamatami, aired in Japan earlier this year. Yen Press has acquired the rights to 10-volume (and still ongoing) Nabari no Ou manga, and plans to publish the first volume of the series in May of 2009.

Kunihisa Sugishima, who directed Speed Grapher, helmed the Nabari no Ou anime, which follows the adventures of a typical contemporary teen who is reluctantly drawn into a secret world of ninja intrigue.  Funimation plans to release an English dub edition of Nabari no Ou in the U.S. in 2009.

Funimation has also acquired full rights to the Gonzo science fiction anime series Vandread, which Geneon released here in the U.S. back in 2002.  Funimation will release both the 13 episode Vandread, which aired in Japan in 2000 and the 13-episode Vandread: The Second Stage, which was broadcast in Japan in 2001.