Crunchyroll has added an English dub for Gunma-chan, the anime based on Gunma Prefecture’s mascot character. Voice actor Shakyra Dunn confirmed that she voices Buchi, Francoise and Meemi’s mother, among other characters.
The anime’s first season premiered in October 2021 on several Japanese television stations, including Tokyo MX, TV Kanagawa, TV Saitama, Chiba TV and Gunma TV. It consisted of 39 seven-minute episodes, broadcast three at a time, and concluded in December 2021.
A second season premiered in April 2023, with the main cast and staff returning at Ascension. Crunchyroll is streaming the series.
Mitsuru Hongō directed and wrote the anime at Ascension. Karin Takahashi voices Gunma-chan, while Aya Uchida and Yui Ogura play the character’s friends Aoma and Mimi.
The current Gunma-chan design first appeared as the “Yūma-chan” mascot for a sports competition in 1994. It became Gunma Prefecture’s official mascot in 2008, replacing an earlier design that had been used since the 1980s.
Sources: Anime News Network.