Contract Wars

Contract Wars is a Japanese shōnen manga spun-off from a Surprise! Pop Rabbit gag featuring a tabletop game of the same name. The manga has been serialized in several kodomomuke magazines since 1996. An anime adaptation by Toei Animation and Aniplex aired between 1998 and 2000, airing in-between Surprise! Pop Rabbit anime series. Unlike the first Surprise! Pop Rabbit anime, Seikunime had no involvement in the anime adaptation; thus, like Surprise! Pop Rabbit, it was initially unreleased in the West; as of 2017 Aniplex of America licensed the series in North America.
A second anime adaptation, animated at Studio Aura and co-produced with YTV Family and Aniplex, is set to air in 2019. NickFamily Studios and Aniplex of America share the master license to the 2019 adaptation, with NickFamily having broadcast and streaming rights and Aniplex of America having home media and merchandise rights. Though a test dub of the first anime was produced at Bandai America and its 12 episodes released as extras on the North American localization of Surprise! Pop Rabbit: The Video Game, the full dub for both anime series is a co-production between NickFamily Toronto and Bang Zoom! Entertainment. As of 2017, the only Contract Wars material to remain unlicensed outside of Japan is the manga.
In May 2019, Studio Aura announced that episodes of the 2019 adaptations of both Surprise! Pop Rabbit and Contract Wars would air in the same half-hour, necessitating an 11-minute episode length, including splitting already-completed episodes into two parts. The anime aired on all TXN stations from September 1st, 2019 to April 19th, 2020. A half-hour anime adaptation of the final arc, known as Contract Wars: Finale Arc, replaced both slots beginning April 26th, 2020. After the first two episodes, it was announced that the anime would be re-broadcast in July, due to the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic.
The 2019 anime was simulcast on Crunchyroll, NickFamily Stream, FunimationNow and Hidive, but only in North America; Hidive has the exclusive streaming rights in the rest of the world, excluding Japan, where Nico Nico Douga has exclusive streaming rights. Finale Arc is initially subject to a 30-day exclusivity on FunimationNow before debuting on Crunchyroll and HiDive.
==Characters==
*Kazuko Harabo (voiced by Kotono Mitsuishi (Japanese), Erica Mendez (English))
*Minoto Karuki (voiced by Kappei Yamaguchi (Japanese), Adam Noble (English))
*Koyudo Mikabe (voiced by Minori Matsushima (Japanese, 1st anime), Ayaka Saitō (Japanese, 2nd anime), Chiara Zanni (English))
==Premise==
15-year-old Minoto Karuki, accompanied by his 7-year-old brother Koyudo Mikabe, force their sister Kazuko Harabo into a contact, in a game where no one can break the rules of their contract. If one were to break the rules of the contract, if caught they must subject themselves to a battle with the one who caught them, and if they lose they're banned from ever playing "Contract Wars" again.
==Episodes==
Main article: List of Contract Wars (1998) episodes
===2019 series===
TBA.
==Trivia==
TBA.
Category:Anime
Category:Shows delayed due to the 2019-20 COVID-19 pandemic