The Ni No Kuni Anime Movie Is Coming To Netflix In January

Level 5's well-liked RPG series, Ni No Kuni, received an anime film spin-off in Japan earlier this year. It'll soon be available in the west, but it's skipping cinemas. The film is part of Netflix's January 2020 plan, and will be available on January 16.

The Ni No Kuni movie is not directly connected to either game but features a similar premise;it follows two high-schoolers who are transported from our world to a fantasy one with some strange parallels. You can watch the Japanese trailer below--it's not clear if Netflix will provide a dub. The film is directed by Yoshiyuki Momose, who also designed the characters.

The first Ni No Kuni famously featured animated cutscenes by Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki's celebrated anime studio that has produced classics like My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, and Grave of the Fireflies. Momose previously worked for the studio as a key animator. Studio Ghibli is not involved in the Ni No Kuni movie, though; it was produced by OLM, Inc. The studio is best known for animating the Pokemon anime series and movies.

Ni No Kuni is not the only new anime coming to the service during the month; Scissor Seven will be added on January 10 and Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac: season 1 part 2 is coming on January 23.

The original Ni No Kuni game was released for the PS3 (and the Nintendo DS in Japan,) and was recently re-released for Switch, PS4, and PC.