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Case File nº221: Kabukicho Anime Gets 6-Story Original Video Anime on August 26

The official website for Production I.G's original television anime Case File nº221: Kabukicho (Kabukichō Sherlock) announced on Sunday that an original video anime project will ship on August 26. The project will depict the past and future of Sherlock, Watson, Moriarty, and the other detectives in the tenement.

The first of six included episodes, "Moriarty no Shōtai" (Moriarty's True Identity), will cover the secret origin story of the Kabukichō squadron. Moriarty was once the pickpocket target of Yoshio in this recollection of their encounter during their younger days.

The August 26 Blu-ray Disc and DVD release will run about 25 minutes long with bonus extras. It will include a booklet titled "Shinjuku-ku Kabukichō Guide" (Guide to Shinjuku Ward's Kabukicho), the pilot movie produced during the project's early planning stages, and audio commentaries by cast members Katsuyuki Konishi, Yūichi Nakamura, and Seiichirō Yamashita.

The television anime series premiered on the "Animeism" programming block on TBS and MBS on October 11 late at night at 1:55 a.m. (effectively October 12). It aired for two cours (quarters of a year) without an extended break.

The anime stars:

• Katsuyuki Konishi as Sherlock Holmes
• Yūichi Nakamura as John H. Watson
• Seiichirō Yamashita as James Moriarty
• Sōma Saitō as Fuyuto Kyogoku
• Nao Tōyama as Mary Morstan
• Mariko Higashiuchi as Lucy Morstan
• Yutaka Aoyama as Michel Belmont
• Tatsumaru Tachibana as Toratarō Kobayashi
• Junichi Suwabe as Mrs. Hudson

The show's website describes the story:

The East Side of Shinjuku Ward … The neon-lit Kabukicho district stretches across the center of this chaotic city. Where light shines, there are also deep shadows. Yet even deep in this darkness where evildoers lurk, the light of a detective tenement shines. The tenement run by Mrs. Hudson has seven peculiar, shady individuals.

The curtains has risen on this stage on the night when a bizarre murder by Jack the Ripper has occurred. Is this suspense? No, comedy? An indistinguishable drama is about to begin….

Ai Yoshimura (My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU, Dance with Devils) directed the television anime, and Taku Kishimoto (Joker Game, 91 Days, ERASED) was in charge of the series scripts. Toshiyuki Yahagi (Joker Game, Persona 5 the Animation -The Day Breakers-) designed the characters. Takurō Iga (Fuuka, Tsuki ga Kirei) composed the music. EGO-WRAPPIN' performed the anime's opening theme song "CAPTURE," and Lozareena performed the ending song "Hyakuoku Kōnen" (Ten Billion Lightyears).

Sources: Kabukichō Sherlock anime's website, Mainichi Shimbun's Mantan Web