Juri Ihata

Alien Nine is a manga series by Hitoshi Tomizawa, which was later adapted into an anime OVA series by J.C.Staff. The manga was serialized in Akita Shoten’s Young Champion magazine, spanning 3-volumes. In 2003, Tomizawa released a 1-volume sequel to the series called Alien 9 Emulators. Both the manga and anime are noted for their moe art style contrasting the realistic art style seen in most seinen series at the time and heavy violence despite the young main characters, Pokémon-like monster designs, and initial appearances of a slice-of-life-esque series.

The English adaptation of the series was first licensed by Central Park Media, and has played on Comcast’s Anime Selects. Central Park Media released the title under their “US Manga Corps” line, on a single DVD, and later re-released the DVD in a box set with all three manga volumes, which was also licensed by Central Park Media under their “CPM Manga” line. Central Park Media filed for bankruptcy in 2009, and the DVDs and manga volumes have since been out of print, but still in-stock at most online retailers.