ADV Films announced the acquisition of four new anime series, all of which aired in Japan in 2006 and three of which were produced by Gonzo (Gantz, Samurai Seven), at Anime Central.  The new series include the supernatural thriller Red Garden, the darkly hilarious hikikomori comedy Welcome to the NHK, the action-packed alternate history/science fiction/military action series Pumpkin Scissors, and the 'magical girl' saga Magikano. 

Add these four series to ADV's previously announced 2007 debuts, which include Air Gear, Le Chevalier d'Eon, Air, Sgt. Frog and Innocent Venus, and it becomes clear that the company with the largest backlist of anime titles has returned to the marketplace with a vengeance in 2007 after receiving a major investment from the Japanese conglomerate Sojitz (see 'Japanese Investment Bulks Up ADV') in 2006.

The first new series that ADV is releasing in the fall, on September 18th, is Red Garden, a 24-episode Gonzo series that debuted in Japan last August.  Red Garden, which was popular enough to spawn a manga series and an OVA sequel Red Garden: Dead Girls due out in Japan this August, was the first anime series to use a method often employed in the U.S. where the voice actors dialogue is recorded first and then animated.  With its striking character designs, this psychological murder mystery/drama set in an anime version of New York City is one of the most intriguing anime releases of the year.

Yusuke Yamamoto (Sgt. Frog) brings his comic sensibilities to Welcome to the NHK, a dark warped comedy grounded in the mind of a teenage recluse (hikikomori), who 'discovers' a conspiracy that turns everyone into housebound otaku.  Tokyopop is publishing the manga series written by Tatsuhiko Takimoto (who also wrote the original light novel in 2002 that Tokyopop plans on issuing at some point) so many Americans are already engrossed in this darkly comic saga. 

The 24-episode Welcome to the NHK debuted on Japanese TV last July and debuts on DVD on October 2nd.  The NHK in the title of the series refers not only to the Japanese TV network (Nippon Hoso Kyokai -- the 'Japanese Broadcasting Association'), but also to what the lead character thinks the letters actually stand for ('Nippon Hikikomori Kyokai,' literally the 'Japanese Hikikomori Association').

Based on the manga series by Ryoutarou Iwanaga and published in the U.S by Del Rey (see 'Del Rey Announces Four Manga Launches'), Pumpkin Scissors is a sort of an alternate history science fiction saga set in a mythical corruption-laden European country between the World Wars.  The title refers to a special unit of the Army charged with cutting through layers of corruption like a scissor snipping through the layers of a pumpkin.  The eagerly awaited 24-episode Gonzo anime first aired in Japan last October and will debut here on October 23rd, just a month after Del Rey issues the first volume of the Pumpkin Scissors manga on September 25th.

The fourth new series ADV announced, Magikano, is a shonen comedy based on a manga by Takeaki Momose (Miami Guns) about a young teenage boy (Haruo) who is protected by his three older sisters, all 'magical girls,' though they never let him know.  When a rich girl from a powerful magic-using family discovers that Haruo is the only one who can lift a spell on her, numerous complications ensue as she tries to get past Haruo's protective siblings.  The 13-episode Magikano anime, the only one of the four announced new ADV acquisitions not produced by Gonzo, debuted on Japanese TV in January 2006 and ADV plans to issue the first of 3 Magikano DVDs on December 4th.