So I was following Steven’s non-link to an article over at Anime News Service about a 40-minute OVA to be released on the web, done entirely in (probable) Engrish. It involves a 20-something catgirl who can triple-wield weapons using her tail. But scrolling down past that, I caught sight of the following report
First announced via ANS July 31st, based on the shounen / comedy manga by Takeshi Fujishiro, serialized in Shounen GanGan magazine, animation studio Feel will adapt Nagasarete Airantou to an animation TV series in Japan. Debut is expected in April on TV Tokyo. Confirmed staff now includes Director Hideki Okamoto (Iketeru Futari, Zipang), Character Designer Naoto Hosoda (Shuffle!, Jinki:Extend) and Script by Mamiko Ikeda (Fruits Basket, Gravitation). The 26 episode series will follow the story of a 14 year old boy runaway who stows away onboard a ship. After falling into the ocean and being being caught up in a storm he finds himself washed ashore the remote island of Airantou. The only inhabitants of the island are teen girls who have never seen a boy. The official website at www.starchild.co.jp/special/airantou/ launches November 22nd.
I guess I used up all my inventive humor last night. There’s just nothing adequate I can say about that kind of a set up.
Anyone else remember the old Bud Light commercial (from about 20 years ago?) with the two astronauts stranded with a broken-down spaceship? One’s sitting by the airlock looking glum when the bushes rustle. “Frank? I told you to go find some….help?” As Frank is tossed out of the bushes, several busty, spear-and-beer toting amazons step out as well, dressed in glittering… uh, swimsuits. Frank’s got a lot of lipstick on him. “Wellllllllll….” Cue the narrator, then cut back to the formerly glum spaceman talking to the leader of the Space Amazons. “So, there’s nothing here to drink but Bud Light, we’re the only men on the planet, and we can NEVER leave.”
“Correct.” says the Space Amazon.
“Ah.. we can live with that.”
Maybe it’s just me, but I always thought they were idiots for not trying to find out WHY they were the only men on the planet. Did the Amazons go all praying mantis on their mates?  And how’d they get the beer franchise?
Proof positive that I think too much, isn’t it? Anyway, this absurd setup reminds me of that commercial.
I’ll confess to being a sucker for outrageous premises like that, though I doubt it’s got enough steam to drive a full 26-episode season. Maybe if the characters are well developed and they take time to explore the backstory, like how did all those teen girls get to be on an island with no men… aw, who the hell am I kidding? The first episode will feature a gag where the girls walk in on the guy washing himself, they’ll all be like, “What’s that thing between your legs?”, and it will go downhill from there.
I had reservations about using a double entendre like “well developed” in the paragraph above. Of course they’ll be well developed, they’re harem anime females. Except for the loli one who’s flatter than the male lead.
Honestly, though, I’ve written all that without knowing anything aside from what’s in the ANS post, so it could well be totally different. According to amazon.co.jp the ninth manga volume came out just last month, so they’ve got plenty of material to work with. Since I’ve been so mean to it in this comment, maybe I’ll order the first volume and see how far my cobbled-together Japanese skills get me. Been meaning to put in an order there anyway…
What worries me is that of the six series listed in the staff credits, I’ve only even heard of 3 of them and didn’t like any of those 3.
But the most important thing may be this: will the loli have Ruri Hoshino-pigtailed hair? I mean, that’s a make-or-break thing right there! (/channels Kyon)
Well, ok. I’ll do without the pigtails, but only if she’s got potato-masher grenades…
AnimeNFO has this for it. Not damned much, but at least it confirms that it’s planned.
They do offer an explanation as to why there are no men in the island. Supposedly all the males were on a fishing trip, and some storm washed them away. Not a great explanation, but at least there’s one.
Actually, I’m looking foward to the anime, I enjoyed the manga a lot, and some of the characters are quite colorful (especially Machi and Ayane). You can find scans at http://att.nagi-fanboi.net/