Sentai Filmworks Adds The Familiar of Zero TV Anime

North American anime licensing company Sentai Filmworks announced on Thursday that it has licensed the first season of The Familiar of Zero television anime series. The company plans to stream the series and then release it on bilingual DVD and Blu-ray Disc.

The show, which is based on late author Noboru Yamaguchi's light novel series, centers on Loise Francoise le Blanc, a witch in training who is known by her classmates as "Louise the Zero." During a ritual, Loise accidentally conjures Saito, a teenage boy from earth, and the two are bound by the laws of magic as master and servant forever.

The 13-episode series originally aired in 2006. Yoshiaki Iwasaki (Hayate the Combat Butler, Love Hina) directed the series off of Takao Yoshioka's (Ikki Tousen, Elfen Lied) scripts at J.C. Staff. The series stars Rie Kugimiya as Louise ad Satoshi Hino as Saito.

Yamaguchi's light novels inspired four television anime series. 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. Sentai Filmworks is releasing the final season, Familiar of Zero F, in North America.

Seven Seas Entertainment is releasing Nana Mochizuki's manga adaptation in North America.