Fena: Pirate Princess - What We Know So Far

So far, 2021 has been a magnificent time for anime. Some of the best anime series and movies of the year are already out, even though we're only approaching the halfway mark to the year. There are no signs of slowing down as we still have more series to get excited about, including the upcoming "Fena: Pirate Princess."

Per Crunchyroll, the action-adventure series comes from director Kazuto Nakazawa and animation studio Production I.G., who have many notable credits to their name, including "Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex." It also appears to be a collaborative production from Adult Swim and Crunchyroll. Based on the trailers for "Fena," the series will definitely showcase some slick action and place its protagonist Fena on a grand adventure, like most Shonen shows. Animation Magazine also reports that Nakazawa has said the series is also a "love story." It's going to be interesting to see how romance fits into this series about pirates and samurai, but fortunately, we won't have to wait too long to find out.

Here's everything we know so far.

An official release date hasn't been revealed yet. However, we do at least have a release window for "Fena: Pirate Princess," and it looks like the upcoming anime is scheduled to come out much sooner than later. According to Crunchyroll, "Fena: Pirate Princess" is coming out some time this summer. It will be streamed with subtitles on Crunchyroll and air with an English dub during Adult Swim's Toonami block.

This release could technically mean anywhere from the end of June through the 22nd of September 2021, as that's when the summer season actually ends. This release window also puts it before the planned schedule of the Japanese broadcast for "Fena: Pirate Princess." As noted again in Crunchyroll, the streaming service and Adult Swim will be the first to air the series before it premieres in Japan. The official Japanese Twitter account for "Fena: Pirate Princess" lists the Japanese broadcast for the series as October 2021, which will place it in the middle of Japan's autumn anime season.

Via Animation Magazine, along with a second trailer for "Fena: Pirate Princess," more details emerged about the series, including information on main characters. The series centers on the silver-haired Fena Houtman (voiced by Asami Seto), who is cheerful despite her tragic past. Fena appears to have a team of powerful, unique, and just plain cool samurai helping on her journey who were also revealed. 

Characters revealed so far include the swordsman bodyguard Yukimaru (voiced Ryota Suzuki), the ranged attacker Shitan (voiced by Takahiro Sakurai), technology fan and gunslinger Karin (voiced by Aoi Yuki), mischievous twins Enju and Kaede (voiced by Gen Sato and Ryota Osaka, Tsubaki the cook (voiced by Jun Osuka), and Makaba (voiced by Shintaro Tanaka), who is the muscle of the group. Rounding out Fena's crew are two older gentlemen seen in the latest trailer helping her escape a planned wedding and locating the island of the pirates. They are Salman (voiced by Manabu Muraji) and Otto (voiced by Hiroaki Hirata), and they are described as old knights who were expertly skilled in battle in their younger days.

Via Crunchyroll, the official plot synopsis for "Fena: Pirate Princess" reveals that Fena is an orphan raised in a brothel. She remembers little about her childhood. After escaping to an island of pirates, she learns the truth about her family. With her crew of samurai, she faces off against a band of female pirates while embarking on a grand adventure to uncover more of her family's secrets. "Fena: Pirate Princess" will probably unravel some of those family secrets throughout its planned 12-episode run.

The trailers reinforce the direction of the series and present a few more potential clues for the plot. For instance, in the latest trailer, we see a young Fena placed on a boat by herself as a man, presumably Fena's father, yells for her to get to Eden. A younger Yukimaru also promises to find Fena. Perhaps the series will show this scene in more detail, explaining what led Fena to be separated from her family. The trailer also implies that Fena's family may have some valuable treasure on the line. This could also be the reason why she is being chased by other pirates and needs to be protected by her own team of samurai. Who is Fena escaping from in a wedding dress? In any case, the story of Fena looks to be a high-stakes adventure.