See Rick And Morty’s New Anime Series In First Look Video
A new Rick and Morty series is currently in the works at Adult Swim, with a bold new visual design and a distinct artistic voice. The trailer for Rick and Morty: The Anime is available to watch on Adult Swim’s official YouTube channel, with some words from series writer and director Takashi Sano at the end. The exciting footage was first released at San Diego Comic-Con to massive fanfare.
Rick and Morty: The Anime is launching with a 10-episode first season but there’s no release date available yet.
Rick and Morty has long been a fan-favorite animated series on the network, amassing millions of fans worldwide and causing untold chaos at various McDonald’s locations in the pursuit of a rare McNugget dipping sauce. Rick and Morty: The Anime has been given a 10-episode order, with art directed by Arisa Matsuzwana and color design by Maikio Kojima.
Though the original series was co-created by Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland, the pair don’t seem to have any credited hands-on involvement with the series, though they could be integral to the behind-the-scenes vision of the show.
Of course, it wouldn’t come as a great shock if Rick and Morty: The Anime had no direct input from either of the original creators. During his brief confessional following the trailer, Takashi Sano described how he has taken on the task of compressing his vision of the entire original series and compressed it into an essential 10-episode season, with a distinctly Japanese flair that could only be accomplished through the medium of anime.
Additionally, the team behind Rick and Morty has been rocked by scandals in the past year, as Justin Roiland has been accused of a number of salacious crimes, including domestic battery with corporal injury and false imprisonment. While the courts ultimately dropped these charges, Adult Swim and Dan Harmon have officially parted ways with Roiland, making it highly doubtful that his creative input would be allowed for Rick and Morty: The Anime.
Original series creators Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon are not involved on-screen with Rick and Morty: The Anime, which will feature different voice actors.
Roiland was also fired from his other television ventures, such as Hulu’s Solar Opposites and Koala Man, which have both been renewed without Roiland’s future involvement.
Though Justin Roiland was responsible for voicing both titular characters in the Rick and Morty series, Adult Swim has agreed to recast the characters at the discretion of Dan Harmon and company, in accordance with their plans for the show’s upcoming seventh season. Rick and Morty are set to be voiced by Yōhei Tadano and Keisuke Chiba, respectively, in Rick and Morty: The Anime.
Takashi Sano seems to be a perfect fit to helm Rick and Morty: The Anime, as he has previously crafted a pair of anime shorts within the Rick and Morty universe, titled “Rick and Morty vs. Genocider” and “Summer Meets God (Rick Meets Evil).” The series is said to revolve around the Smith family members as they navigate a series of intense inter-dimensional adventures, much like the original cartoon.
Rick and Morty: The Anime isn’t going to be impacted by the strikes in Hollywood as all writing and voice work has already been completed.
While no release date was provided for Rick and Morty: The Anime or the original series’ seventh season, producers on stage during the con were quick to reassure fans that the projects were coming very soon. Due to the animation process, the show’s writing and acting were completed long before the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike began, though the dual strikes will almost certainly impact future seasons.
In the meantime, full Rick and Morty episodes are available to stream on Adult Swim’s official website.
