‘Rick and Morty: The Anime’ Trailer Drops Ahead of August 15 Premiere

Rick and Morty: The Anime premieres on Thursday, Aug. 15 on Adult Swim at midnight. The spinoff series just got its first trailer on Thursday, giving fans an idea of how this show will differ from the mainline Rick and Morty series and the anime-style short films that have been released up to this point. It also gives us a preview of both the Japanese and English-language voice actors.

The opening shots of this trailer make the premise very clear: this show takes place in an anime-style universe sharing the same broad multiverse reality as the original. It depicts all the characters in a new art style and with new voices. The English-language dub stars Joe Daniels as Rick, Gabriel Regojo as Morty, Donna Bella Litton as Summer, Daniels as Jerry and Patricia Duran as Beth. The Japanese-language version stars Youhei Tadano, Keisuke Chiba, Akiha Matsui, Manabu Muraji and Takako Fuji.

According to Adult Swim, the English-language version of the show will premiere first on Thursday night, followed by the Japanese-language version with English subtitles on Saturday, Aug. 17 at midnight. However, what gives this show an edge over its predecessor is its direct-to-streaming model. It will reportedly be available on Max the day after its debut, and will be available to purchase on PVOD stores as well.

Right now, it appears this show will not keep the short films in its continuity. A six-minute video called “Samurai & Shogun” first premiered on Adult Swim back in March of 2020, depicting Rick and Morty in the style of Lone Wolf & Cub. The video was so popular that four more were produced in the months that followed, and Adult Swim eventually greenlit the idea for its own series. Rick and Morty: The Anime will feature ten-minute episodes, with ten episodes in its season.

Adult Swim gave us a very brief tease about the plot of this season as well. It said: “Rick relaxes in a psuedo-world between multiverses, Summer helps Space Beth fight the evil Galactic Federation, and Morty falls in love with a mysterious girl who happens to be an atemporal being.”

Rick and Morty: The Anime premieres on Thursday, Aug. 15 at midnight on Adult Swim. It will be available to stream on Max or PVOD stores the next day.