IFC Begins Airing Gunslinger Girl & Basilisk
Beginning Jan. 5, 2007, the Independent Film Channel will air a new anime block, featuring GUNSLINGER GIRL at 11:00 pm, followed by BASILISK at 11:30 pm.
Produced by Madhouse, the series is directed by Morio Asaka (STREET FIGHTER, CHOBITS, CARDCAPTOR SAKURA).
Set in scenic Italy, the Social Welfare Agency is a government sponsored organization that is in the business of saving lives. At least, that's the ruse. In reality, the fringe agency gives terminal little girls a second shot at life using cybernetic implants and then conditions them to become efficient killing machines who handle all of the government's dirty work.
Each child assassin is teamed with a handler, responsible for their training and conditioning, their performance in the field, and their overall welfare and development. These teams are referred to as "fratello", Italian for sibling. The series introduces each fratello in turn, tracing the teams back to their inception and developing the relationship between child and handler.
IFC's Dan Persons discovered GUNSLINGER GIRL while producing a streaming documentary called ANIME IN THE USA (www.ifc.com/static/sections/samurai7/) for the promotion of IFC's SAMURAI 7 series. FUNimation, who handles the U.S. rights for both SAMURAI 7 and GUNSLINGER GIRL, sent Persons a copy of GUNSLINGER, which he included in the documentary. Once IFC execs saw the clips from GUNSLINGER, they instantly wanted to put the series on the air.
Produced by Gonzo Digimation Holdings (GDH), BASILISK is directed by Fumitomo Kizaki (NEON GENESIS EVANGELION, BLUE GENDER, SHADOW SKILL - EIGI).
In 1614 AD, the 19th year of the Keicho Era, wretched deep within the Edo Castle, loyalties lie in a twisted socio-political tangle. In penitent disarray, the rooted partisan siding with Hidetada's heir and first-born Takechiyo, fear the united insurgence backed by those devoted to his younger son Kunichiyo. If this treacherous rupture goes unresolved, the whole Tokugawa kingdom will be torn apart, leaving the high-priced samurai to battle for a new heir. But Lord Ieyasu won't allow the Tokugawa samurai to perish when mutant ninjas can be spared at no expense.
For more information, visit www.ifc.com.