"Combat Butler" Hits The Big Screen

One of the best-written manga and funniest anime series of all-time is getting its dues, this time in the form of a full-length movie.

In an upcoming issue of Shogakukan's Weekly Shonen Sunday magazine it will be announced that a theatrical film adaptation of Kenjiro Hata's beloved manga Hayate The Combat Butler (or Hayate no Gotoku!, as it's known over there) has been put into production. The story of a debt-ridden high school kid Hayate, whose hired as a butler for the young Nagi, has in the past been adapted into two successful anime series, a few drama CDs and an upcoming live-action Taiwanese drama.

The movie will be helmed by Hideto Komori, who in the past has worked as an animation director for such series as Darker Than BLACK, Ergo Proxy and House of Five Leaves. Studio Manglobe (Samurai Champloo, Michiko to Hatchin) will be producing it, and Yasuko Kobayashi (Casshern Sins, Claymore) has adapted the screenplay. No word on a release date, though one may guess at a late 2011 or early 2012 Japanese release.

Viz Media is currently releasing the original Hayate manga in the states, Bandai Entertainment is handling the anime's distribution and Crunchyroll is streaming the both the first and second season on their website. No word on whether or not Bandai will be licensing the film, though many can only hope.