On August 2, Netflix announced a massive slate of original anime programs, all of which it plans to premiere for its subscribers over the coming years. The lineup includes a majority of shows led by notable Japanese animators, but the project that caught our eye here at Tubefilter comes from an American creator. Cannon Busters, from creator LeSean Thomas, will tell the story of an AI who seeks the aid of a wanted man, and its writing team includes Natasha Allegri, who is known as the woman behind the hit web series Bee & PuppyCat.
The protagonist of Cannon Busters is S.A.M., who a Netflix press release describes as a “high-end, royal-class friendship droid.” With the help of a maintenance robot and a fugitive, S.A.M. will search for a long-lost friend. The series is adapted from a comic book series authored by Thomas. In 2014, he raised more than $150,000 on Kickstarter to fund a pilot for his series, which he released for backers in 2016. Now, he is working with Manga Entertainment Ltd, Nada Holdings, and Satelight to make a full season of Cannon Busters a reality.
Subscribe to get the latest creator news
Allegri will make up one part of the Cannon Busters writing team, which also includes Thomas, Lizzie Bennet Diaries co-writer Anne Toole, and comic book creator Nilah Magruder. Allegri has experience with a fruitful Kickstarter campaign of her own; after Bee & PuppyCat gained millions of views during its initial run on the Cartoon Hangover channel, the team behind it raised more than $872,000 to fund a full season that ultimately premiered in 2014. Additional episodes have been made available through the subscription service VRV.
Given the talent possessed by Thomas and his team, Cannon Busters is an animated series worth keeping an eye on. Its premiere date is not yet known; in the meantime, you can read about Netflix’s entire anime slate — which spans more than a dozen shows — via io9.
