The wraparound jacket band on the second volume of Yukari Higa‘s Zero no Tsukaima Chevalier manga is announcing this month that the final series of the Zero no Tsukaima light novel franchise has been green-lit as a television anime. Zero no Tsukaima Kessakusen, selected episodes from previous Zero no Tsukaima anime, will air this October. The story follows a budding magician, nicknamed “Louise the Zero” due to her initial ineptness at magic, who accidentally summoned a boy from Earth as her familiar.

Noboru Yamaguchi‘s original light novels have already inspired three television anime series. Yamaguchi has been writing the final series arc of the light novels, and he had planned to end the light novels next year. However, he was diagnosed with cancer in February, and he decided to focus first on a successful surgery and recovery instead of finishing the 21st and second-to-last volume this month.

Geneon Entertainment (USA) Inc. released the first anime series on DVD in North America. Later, Funimation acquired the rights after Geneon stopped distributing anime in North America. Both companies’ releases of the first anime series are out of print.

Update:

Zero no Tsukaima light novelist Noboru Yamaguchi reported on Sunday that the previously revealed fourth season of the anime adaptation is slated for next year. He had reported earlier this week that he left the hospital without incident after his surgery this month for cancer.

Toshiyuki Kimura (Casshern) was a concept designer, and Yasushi Nirasawa (Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, Hellboy) designed characters. Dango Takeda (Kamen Rider, Gantz, Mamoru Oshii‘s Assault Girls) designed the costumes, while Atsushi Takeuchi (Appleseed, Ghost in the Shell, Yukikaze) designed the motorcycle.

The video ends with a pitch for investing partners to develop the property further.

Demo:

[Via animeanime.biz]

Konami is reissuing Metal Gear Solid 2, 3, and Peace Walker in this set for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles in November.

The production company Aniplex confirmed on Saturday that the previously announced new Rurouni Kenshin anime series will be a two-part Shin Kyoto-Hen (New Kyoto Arc) original video anime series. The first part will play in Japanese theaters in December.

The new anime series will remake the Kyoto story arc of Nobuhiro Watsuki‘s original manga and the previous anime adaptation. In paritcular, it will depict the battle of Kenshin Himura and Makoto Shishio and will be told from the point of view of the Oniwabanshū ninja Miso Makimachi. Director Kazuhiro Furuhashi and Studio DEEN are returning to animate the new series along with musical composer Noriyuki Asakura. Mari Okada (AnoHana, Wandering Son) is writing the scripts this time. Hiromitsu Hagiwara (Saint Beast ~Ikusen no Hiru to Yoru Hen~) is the new character designer, and Hiro Kaburaki (Kimi ni Todoke) will take over as the episode director. The cast will remain the same except for the role of Hajime Saitō, who will be played by Ken Narita.

Cast:
Mayo Suzukaze as Kenshin Himura
Miki Fujitani as Kaoru Kamiya
Miina Tominaga as Yahiko Myoujin
Yuji Ueda as Sanosuke Sagara
Tomo Sakurai as Misao Makimachi
Yoshito Yasuhara as Aoshi Shinomori
Masanori Ikeda as Makoto Shishio
Ken Narita as Hajime Saitō

Thanks to Majin Tenshi for the news tip.

The Japanese production company Media Factory began streaming a 70-second “Sōsei ver.” trailer on Friday for Aquarion Evol, the new television anime series in director Shoji Kawamori and Satelight‘s Aquarion robot anime franchise. The trailer was shown at this past week’s Comic Market 80 event in Tokyo.

Original creator Shoji Kawamori (Macross, Escaflowne) will serve as the chief director for the series, and Yusuke Yamamoto (B Gata H Kei, Welcome to the NHK) will direct. Yoko Kanno (Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex) is again producing the theme song. Chinatsu Kurahana (Uta no Prince-sama – Maji Love 1000%) and Kana Ishida are drawing the original character designs that Ishida and Hirotaka Marufuji (Armored Core: Fort Tower Song) will then adapt for anime. Mari Okada (Black Butler, Wandering Son) is in charge of the scripts, and Satelight will again produce the animation along with 8-Bit.

The story of Aquarion Evol will take place 12,000 years after the first Aquarion television series at a city modeled after Hong Kong. A new cast of characters, piloting a new Aquarion robot, will fight enemies from another dimension. Kawamori has hinted that the characters might be reincarnations of Apollo, Silvia, and the other characters from the first series.

The anime franchise adapts Izuru Yumizuru‘s “popular high-speed school battle romantic comedy” light novel series. The story centers around the IS Academy: a school for training the pilots of the Infinite Stratos weapon system, which can only be used by females. Candidates plucked from girls from countries all over the world are brought here — as well as one boy named Ichika Orimura.

The television anime version of the story premiered in January and ran until April. The Encore video is set in the storyline in the later half of the fourth light novel volume.

CAPCOM began streaming a three-minute trailer for the Asura’s Wrath action game on its YouTube channel on Wednesday. CAPCOM released the trailer for the Gamescom videogame trade fair being held in Germany from August 17 to August 21.

CyberConnect2 (Naruto: Ultimate Ninja series) and producer Kazuhiro Tsuchiya developed Asura’s Wrath. The story follows Asura, a god has been stripped of his powers, as he rescues his kidnapped daughter. CAPCOM plans to release Asura’s Wrath on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles in 2012.

Trailer

IGN began streaming a trailer for the fighting game bundle Tekken 3D Prime Edition on Wednesday. The game will be released on the Nintendo 3DS at a date to be announced. The game will be bundled with the computer-animated feature film Tekken: Blood Vengeance, which had a limited North American theatrical releaseon July 26. (The trailer includes footage from both the game and the film.)

The Tekken franchise was previously adapted into a 1998 anime feature, Tekken: The Motion Picture.

Thanks to Mark Alv for the news tip.