A new PV trailer has been released for the upcoming anime film Fafner in the Azure: BEHIND THE LINE, which will have theatrical pre-screenings in Japan beginning January 20, 2023. 

The main trailer also previews the film’s theme song “Start again” by J-Pop band angela, who have performed most of the opening and ending themes of the Fafner in the Azure anime series. 

Fafner in the Azure: BEHIND THE LINE was originally announced in 2021 as a one-episode “peaceful spin-off” story from the main series. The film’s production staff were all previously involved with the Fafner in the Azure anime, which includes Takashi Noto as director, Tow Ubukata as screenwriter, Hisashi Hirai as character designer, Naohiro Washio as mechanical designer, Yumi Horikoshi as art director, Mitsuko Sekimoto as color designer, Ryuuta Koshida as photography director, and Tsuneyoshi Saitou as music composer. Production I.G is in charge of the animation production. 

Meanwhile, the voice cast includes Makoto Ishii as Kazuki Makabe, Kouhei Kiyasu as Soshi Minashiro, Marika Matsumoto as Maya Tomi, Sanae Kobayashi as Kanon Hazama, Satomi Arai as Sakura Kaname, and Minoru Shiraishi as Kenji Kondo. 

The original Fafner in the Azure anime series aired from July 4, 2004 to December 26, 2004 with XEBEC as the animation production company. The story followed a group of boys and girls protecting the island of Tatsuyamajima from a mysterious enemy called the Festum, using humanoid weapons called Fafner. 

The years between the original and BEHIND THE LINE saw the release of the Fafner in the Azure: Right of Left OVA in 2005, Fafner in the Azure: Heaven and Earth in 2010, and the 26-episode series sequel Fafner Exodus series in 2015. To commemorate the series’ 15th anniversary in 2019, the 4-episode Fafner in the Azure: The Beyond was released from May 17, 2019 to November 5, 2021. The series has also inspired various anime films, OVAs, light novels, manga, video games, music albums, and drama CDs. 

Crunchyroll describes the Fafner Exodus sequel as: 

Tatsumiyajima is the central island in the middle of a small cluster of islands, in a sleepy backwater of the Japanese isles. Not much happens there, and the island’s young people go to school knowing that their lives are likely to remain peaceful and undisturbed. Or so they have been taught… but the truth is different. The fate of mankind is on the line, and Tatsumiyajima is the last line of defense against a hostile and incomprehensible enemy. At the center of it all, fighting for Humanity’s continued existence, is the giant robot Fafner, the dragon that guards this final treasure of mankind. Fafner Exodus will be set 2 years after the first attacks of the festums.

Source: Fafner in the Azure Official Anime Twitter