Habitual tea drinker Hershel Layton is the star of a series of handheld puzzle games, sure. But in addition to the Professor Layton series, he and his top hat have been adapted for manga and an animated feature film. The latter, Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva, was first released in Japan in December 2009. It isn’t something you’d necessarily expect to ever make it out of Japan, yet an English version was created for British markets and was released last year. It’s also seen release in other parts of Europe, and soon those in North America will have the opportunity to see it without having to resort to importing or pirating it thanks to Viz Media.
As revealed at the ongoing Anime Expo 2011 in Los Angeles, the feature-length animated film is on its way to North America, Anime Your Way reports. For the cynics who assume it’s not any good, it was actually fairly well received and did well enough that Professor Layton developer Level 5 has already commissioned a sequel and would like to have a new movie out annually.
A new Layton title for smartphones, Layton Royale, was recently announced. There are also two more games, one for DS (The Last Specter) and one for 3DS (The Mask of Miracle), that are out in Japan and have yet to be localized in the U.S. And, lest we forget, Layton is also to be featured in a new game collaboration between Level 5 and Capcom alongside Phoenix Wright — whom himself is getting a movie of his own, albeit a live-action one.
