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'Bye Bye, Earth' Anime's Trailer Unveils Lead Voice Actress, Staff, 2024 Debut

ANN's coverage of New York Comic Con 2023 sponsored by Ize Press!

Crunchyroll debuted the world premiere trailer (listed as a teaser promotional video in Japanese) for the anime of Tow Ubukata's Bye Bye, Earth novel at its New York Comic Con panel on Friday. The trailer announces the anime's main cast, staff, and 2024 television and streaming premiere.

Fairouz Ai plays the main lead Belle Lablac:

Yasuto Nishikata (The Seven Deadly Sins the Movie: Prisoners of the Sky, Hortensia Saga, Killing Bites) is directing the anime at LIDEN FILMS with assistant director Sōta Yokote. Hiroyuki Yoshino (Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, Macross Frontier, World Trigger, Izetta: The Last Witch) is in charge of the series scripts, and Yūki Hino is designing the characters. Kevin Penkin (Made in Abyss, The Rising of The Shield Hero, The Apothecary Diaries) is composing the music.

The other staff members include:

• Monster Design: Ken Tsubuki, Yoshitomo Hara
• Art Director: Hotaka Okamoto
• Color Key Artist: Aiko Shinohara
• Compositing Director of Photography: Yūki Murotsuka
• Editing: Kiyomi Yamada
• Sound Director: Sōichirō Kubo

The novel's story is set on an Earth where all people take the form of animals. Bell is the only girl in the world without the characteristics of animals. She sets out to discover if there are other beings like her. Bell wields a sword and becomes involved with the struggles between the cities and outside world.

Crunchyroll, the WOWOW subscription television channel, and Sony Pictures are producing the anime which will run on WOWOW in Japan. It will also stream on Crunchyroll "in more than 200 countries and territories."

Ubukata's Bye Bye, Earth fantasy novel first shipped in two volumes in December 2000 with art by Yoshitaka Amano. The work then received a new four-volume edition from 2007 to 2008 with illustrations by Hyung-Tae Kim.

Ryū Asahi launched a manga adaptation of the novels in Shonengahosha's Young King Ours magazine in January 2020, and it ended on July 29, 2022. Shonengahosha shipped the manga's fourth and final compiled book volume on September 30, 2022.

Ubukata's Mardock Scramble novels have inspired anime film and manga adaptations. Ubukata has also written the scripts for anime such as Ghost in the Shell Arise, Heroic Age, Fafner, Psycho-Pass 2, and Human Lost. Wit Studio and Ubukata unveiled the Moonrise (working title) project in December 2018, and an English prologue novel for the project debuted that month.

Ubukata's debut work Kuroi Kisetsu (The Black Season) won the first Sneaker Taisho Gold Prize award in 1996. His Mardock Scramble novel won the Nihon SF Taisho Award in 2003. His The Universe Revealed historical novel released in 2009 won the Booksellers Award, the Yoshikawa Eiji Prize for New Writers, and a Naoki Award.

Sources: Email correspondence, Comic Natalie