Ring ni Kakero (lost English dub pilot of anime series; mid-2000s)
Promotional art for the series.
Status: Lost
Ring ni Kakero is a 36-episode anime adaptation of Masami Kurumada's manga series of the same name that was producd by Toei Animation that aired intermittently on TV Asahi and Animax between 2004 and 2011. The series has never been officially released in North America.
Sometime in the mid-2000s, Toei commissioned an English pilot to help sell the show to potential foreign partners. Created by Ocean Productions in Vancouver, Canada and directed by Karl Willems, the pilot came to light after actor Michael Coleman listed the role of Ishimatsu on his website.[1] The website for the company's Calgary office, Bluewater Studios, lists the firm as having been involved with both a Ring ni Kakero pilot and a promo for the series.[2] It's not known if this was a listing mistake, a joint production shared between both cities, or two entirely separate pilots. Coleman listed the show on his website since at least 2009.[3]
Various sites list Coleman's involvement as being attached to Ring ni Kakero 1 Pilot Film, a 5-minute short Toei produced before embarking on the TV series.[4][5] This claim hasn't been verified as Coleman and both Bluewater simply state the project as "Ring ni Kakero."
References
- ↑ An archived webpage of actor Michael Coleman's voice-over roles. Retrieved 07 Oct '17.
- ↑ The official website for Bluewater Studios. Retrieved 07 Oct '17.
- ↑ Another page on the archived Michael Coleman website on his voice-overs. Retrieved 07 Oct '17.
- ↑ An Anime News Network encyclopedia article on the Ring ni Kakero 1 pilot film (OAV). Retrieved 07 Oct '17.
- ↑ A Blogpost article on Ring ni Kakero 1 pilot film: Five minutes of Yamauchi. Retrieved 08 Oct '17.