AN Entertainment, the sister company of the anime retail company AnimeNation, has announced the acquisition of North American distribution rights to the 26-episode cult anime series Hare + Guu (pronounced 'Ha-rey-goo') as well as the two Hare + Guu OAV releases.  Adapted from a manga series by the female manga-ka Renjuro Kindaichi, first published in Shonen GanGan in 1997, the Hare + Guu anime series began its run on Japanese TV in 2001.  The hit cult series is a surreal comedy about a 10-year-old boy (Hare) whose normal life is irrevocably altered by Guu, an apparently innocent orphan girl, who is actually an omnivorous alien, mind-reading pest of the first order of magnitude.

AN Entertainment plans to release the first Hare + Guu DVD sometime in 2005.  The bilingual DVD will feature optional English subtitles and extensive supplemental bonus features, but as with the excellent Risky Safety series also issued by An Entertainment, great care will be taken to produce faithful and accurate dialogue translations.  Surreal comedy (think FLCL) is an anime staple and Hare + Guu is one of the best examples of the genre.  Be prepared to laugh--be very prepared to laugh!