‘Suicide Squad Isekai’ Original Anime Adaptation to Launch Across Asia
A ten-episode original series “Suicide Squad Isekai,” produced by Warner Bros. Japan’s Anime Production and WIT Studio, will premiere on HBO GO later this month.
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The show is an anime (Japanese-style animation) adaptation spawned by the DC Comics universe. It places DC characters including Harley Quinn, The Joker, and the Suicide Squad in new stories. The Japanese word ‘Isekai’ translates into English as ‘another world.’
Earlier this year, Warner Bros. confirmed that it will be increasing the number of such anime adaptations in Asia.
“We have a Japanese anime studio, which has been producing five or ten anime series per year, over the last few years,” said James Gibbons, WBD president of Asia-Pacific in March. “We’ve approved expansion to take that to more than ten series per year.”
The studio has been operational since 2011 and delivered over 80 titles in that span, a mix of high-quality anime, live action series and movies. These include “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure,” which was originally serialized in a manga magazine starting in 1987 and became an animated series that launched in 2012, the “Record of Ragnarok” series and a “Batman Ninja” anime movie.
The new show is directed by Osada Eri from a screenplay by Nagatsuki Tappei and Umehara Eiji. Character design draft is by Akira Amano and character design by Naoto Hosoda. Music is by Kenichiro Suehiro.
“Amanda Waller, the head of A.R.G.U.S., has assembled a group of notorious criminals — Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Peacemaker, Clayface and King Shark — for a mission. These super-villains are sent into an otherworldly realm that’s connected to this world through a mystical portal, leading them into a land of swords and magic where orcs rampage and dragons rule the skies,” reads a Warner Bros.-provided synopsis. “With lethal explosives planted in their necks, there’s no running or hiding, and failing the mission means a one-way ticket to the afterlife.
Characters in “Suicide Squad Isekai” are voiced by a cast including well-known Japanese voice actress Anna Nagase in the lead role as Harley Quinn, Umehara Yuuichirou as The Joker, Yamaguchi Reigo as Deadshot, Koyasu Takehito as Peacemaker, Fukuyama Jun as Clayface, Kimura Subaru as King Shark, Yashiro Taku as Rick Flag, Anzia Chika as Katana and Kujira as Amanda Waller.
HBO Go, is Warner Bros.’ Southeast Asia-only streaming platform. It is likely to eventually be replaced when the technically-superior and richer in content Max platform is rolled out in the region.
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