The 1st project of art NFT auction “SAMURAI cryptos” of Gonzo, “Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ” by Kobayashi Makoto

The animation studio Gonzo has started their latest project "SAMURAI cryptos", which serves as the starting signal of Japanese Samurai in the blockchain, NFT (（Non-Fungible Token) era. Based on the producer Ishikawa Shinichirou, there is a single request, which is "Let's create new anime in the NFT era with the Japanese samurai!". "SAMURAI cryptos" is the latest project with the basic idea of "The characters will ask questions to people around the world, and based on the feedbacks, they will comprehend it and create a new story." Ishikawa mentioned that the new chapter in the anime industry will be started based on the fundamental of NFT. After presenting the three keywords, which are "Cypher (mean 0 in Hindu)", "Decentral", and "Solidarity", he requests creators, who had mutual thoughts with him, to create an original samurai character of their choices. For the 1st lineup, the works by Kobayashi Makoto ("Last Exile" and "Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ"), Chiba Michinori ("Basilisk" and SK8 the Infinity"), and Iijima Hiroya ("Afro Samurai" and "Mazinger Z Movie: Infinity") have been released. Regarding their works, Ishikawa praised them with "The gathering of the works by Kobayashi-san, Chiba-san, and Iijima-san are the best start for this project!". Other than the character design, Ishikawa had also personally request creators for the various designs related to this project. It seems that the results of that are just as he had imagined. For "SAMURAI cryptos", it seems that the next lineup of creators is consists of amazing people. So, do look forward to the detailed announcement on the project schedule and announcement method.

The animation studio Gonzo began "Ouchi de Gonzo" (Gonzo at home) from May 1 in which you can enjoy Gonzo works during your "home time". They are distributing wallpapers of 9 of their works, streaming "The Tower of Druaga" series and "Blassreiter" for free, and distributing a drawing of "Kaleido Star" to color in, along with a contest of which the director Satou Junichi himself will be the judge. "Ouchi de Gonzo" is aimed to give the fans, who have to stay home due to the spread of the novel coronavirus, a more enjoyable experience at home. "The Tower of Druaga" series, "Blassreiter", "Romeo x Juliet", "Witchblade", "Glass Fleet", "Marginal Prince", "SoltyRei", "Basilisk", and "Kaleido Star", are the 9 pieces of work in the lineup of wallpapers available at Gonzo's official website. They depict the worlds of each piece of work and are a great choice for the background of teleworking, video chats, or for the wallpaper of your computer. Also, at the official Gonzo YouTube channel "GONZO CHANNEL", all episodes of "The Tower of Druaga" series and "Blassreiter" are streaming for free until May 14. Adapted from the legendary game, "The Tower of Druaga: the Aegis of URUK" and "The Tower of Druaga: the Sword of URUK" are the adventures of Jil, who aims to climb to the top of the Tower of Druaga. "Blasslater" is a battle royale between those who have become demons who fight for their lives. The anime had great creators as Itano Ichirou, Urobuchi Gen, and Kobayashi Yasuko. Both animes have 24 episodes of young people with thoughts and feelings growing up, so fans, as well as those who have never seen the series, should take this opportunity to check them out. And from "Kaleido Star" comes an illustration of Naegino Sora and Leila Hamilton arranged for coloring. At the same time, the "Kaleido Star Coloring Contest" is held with director Satou Junichi and character designer Watanabe Hajime and Oisaki Fmitoshi as judges. The winning work will be used as the end card of "Kaleido Star", which is scheduled to be released on "GONZO CHANNEL", for a limited time. The winners will be given a chance to win "Kaleido Star" goods with the autographs of all the judges by lottery. If you're a fan, you don't want to miss this event. Further details of Gonzo's "Ouchi de Gonzo" are available at their official website and Twitter. "The Tower of Druaga: the Aegis of URUK" (C)BNEI / Izumi Project "The Tower of Druaga: the Sword of URUK" (C)BNEI / Izumi Project "Blassreiter" (C)2008 GONZO・Nitroplus / Blassreiter Project "Romeo x Juliet" (C)2007 GONZO・CBC TELEVISION CO., LTD.・SkyperfecTV! "Witchblade" (C)2006 Top Cow Productions, Inc. / GONZO・CBC TELEVISION CO., LTD・SkyperfecTV! All rights reserved. "Glass Fleet"(C)2006 GONZO・FIELDS / "Glass Fleet" Production Committee "Marginal Prince"(C)2006 Morimoto Mayuto・Kai Tomohisa / St. Alfonso Academy Board of Directors "SoltyRei"(C)2005 Shuzilow. HA・GONZO "Basilisk" (C)Yamada Fuutarou・Segawa Masaki・Kodansha / GONZO "Kaleido Star" (C)2003 Satou Junichi・HAL・GONZO / Kaleido Stage

Avex Technologies Co., Ltd. released "Kanojo wa Utau, Dakara Boku wa. (She sings, so I am.)", which was entirely produced by remotework using "AniCast Maker". It is a cutting edge anime production tool that enables anyone to produce an anime easily. Avex Technologies Co., Ltd. was founded in May, 2019 under the corporate mission "the Creation of Next-Generation IPs", and have been working on research and development of technologies to support that. In collaboration with Avex Pictures, Inc., which focuses on the anime related business, the company has been conducting a project to develop a cutting edge anime production tool "AniCast Maker", which makes it possible to produce an anime with less human resources, cost, and time, to accelerate "the Creation of Next-Generation IPs" centered on anime. As a result from the experiment to produce videos with "AniCast Maker" by remotework, the company has produced and released a 7 minutelong original animation video "Kanojo wa Utau, Dakara Boku wa." "Kanojo wa Utau, Dakara Boku wa." was directed by Sakai Nobukazu, who used to work for a PC game brand "minori" as an author, director, and producer. It took only 6 staff and 2 months to be produced. This is a successful example of producing anime by remotework even though anime/video related businesses are struggling with producing works due to the spread of COVID-19.

16 pieces of "Kemono Friends" artwork, drawn by concept artist Mine Yoshizaki have gone up for sale. Buyers will be decided by lottery and will receive digital ownership of the art pieces. In addition, various special benefits have been prepared for the purchasers. The digital rights will be sold with help from "Anique", a platform that specializes in the sales of digital artwork, and whose mission is to "create an eternal bond between the work and the fans through their special ceremony." 16 artworks have been provided by "Kemono Friends" concept artist Yoshizaki Mine, and only one of each will be sold. Of course, the purchaser will receive the world's only copy of the digital artwork, but as a special service, the purchaser will be officially recorded for all perpetuity by blockchain technology. Even after the sale, they will continue to be 100% certified as the official owner. In addition, it will be possible for the owner to request a limited edition version of the artwork, made using ultra-high definition output technology. Furthermore, if the purchaser decides to sell the ownership, part of the payment received will be transferred to the "Kemono Friends Project". This way, it can be used to fund their next works. Lottery applications will be accepted until Mar. 9, 2020. Winners will be announced after Mar. 16. A portion of the sales will be donated to the international environmental conservation organization "World Wildlife Fund Japan" (WWF Japan). (C) KFP

"Animelt", an application to check reviews and record your watch history, is now available. This service is not only useful to keep track of what anime you've watched and want to watch, but can also be used to check anime synopsis', distribution information, reviews and more. "Animelt" is a review app that allows you to record and manage the anime you've seen and want to see. In the app, you can list anime by popularity, new arrivals and review score. By clicking on the anime's name, you can also find an overview of various information, such as the production company, year of release, cast, and a link to the official homepage. Furthermore, information such as reviews and links to official video distribution services are also included. In addition, you can easily manage "Watched" and "Want to watch" lists with a single tap of the finger. A list of "watched" anime is displayed on your profile page, and the number of times a certain anime has been "watched" will affect its overall score in the popularity rankings. Furthermore, if you want to leave your own detailed impressions, you can publish your review as well. [Animelt] can be downloaded through the App Store or Google Play.

As one of its 10th anniversary project, [STEINS;GATE] has allowed [Anique], an artwork selling platform using blockchain technology, to handle the sales. From 22:00 on Nov. 5, digital ownership for each of the11 artworks will be sold through lottery.

The fan voting for the "Anime of the Year" and "The 100 Best Titles Chosen by Everyone" of the international animation film festival "Tokyo Anime Award Festival 2022" (To be held from March 11 to March 14, 2022) has started. "TAAF2022" shorts for "Tokyo Anime Award Festival 2022" will be held for the 9th time in 2022, and it is an international animation film festival that is developed and separated from the "Tokyo Anime Awards" which is a part of "Tokyo International Anime Fair" since 2002. For "TAAF2021" that was held last year, "Violet Evergarden the Movie" has won the "Work Award, Featured Film Category", "Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!" has won the "Work Award, TV Series Category", and the "Anime Fan Award" is won by "IDOLISH7 Second BEAT!". "The 100 Best Titles Chosen by Everyone" is a project, where the "100 Most Loved Titles by Everyone in 2021" is chosen by the anime fan from a total of 446 titles that have been broadcast and premiered in 2021 (October 1, 2020 - September 30, 2021), such as "Jujutsu Kaisen" and "Tokyo Revengers". The voting will be held for 1 months. During the voing period, you can vote for 3 titles in the "Featured Film Category" and "TV Series Category" respectively in a daily basis, and do vote based on your favourite titles as well as the titles that you want to recommend to other anime fans. The fan voting of "The 100 Best Titles Chosen by Everyone" has started on the official website and it will end on December 2. Also, a Twitter account is needed for voting. "TAAF2022" will be held in Ikebukuro from March 11 to March 14, 2022. "Article taken from Anime!Anime!Biz/ animeanime.biz"

The Association of Japanese Animations (AJA) has soft-launched its anime database ‘Anime Taizen’ on October 22nd, on the “Day of Anime”. ‘Anime Taizen’ is a compilation of the “Anime NEXT_100” project, which has been promoted since 2015 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Japanese anime. The world’s largest anime database gives users access to the basic information of 14,249 Japanese anime works (as of 9/16/2021) that are registered. Users are provided with detailed information of a total of 177,474 episodes based on their research. With the hopes of providing sources for research, business, creativity, or simply for recreational purposes, the database allows users to search anime works by various categories such as title, year of release, Japanese alphabet, and keywords. The service is highly anticipated to expand the future possibility of Japanese anime. This soft launch is directed at AJA’s member companies and copyright owners for data examination and operation confirmation ahead of the public release. After the experiment, the database will be improved and updated to be ready for the public release in March 2022. （C）2017 ‘Anime NEXT_100’ (Original article from animeanime.biz)

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has started the "Overseas Advancement Step-up Program" again this year as an opportunity to learn business knowledge and skills in order to support overseas advancements of animation-related businesses in Tokyo. The online program consists of six sessions, four seminars and two workshops, and will continue on to the "Tokyo Animation Pitch Grand Prix" in February 2022. The first seminar, "Seminar A: Introductory Session," was held on September 24 and focused on the theme of "Overseas Development under the Covid-19 situation. The speakers were Sudo Tadashi, who established the anime information website "Anime! Anime!" in 2004 and is now an independent journalist engaged in reporting and writing about animation, Imata Susumu, President and Representative Director at ViacomCBS Networks Japan G.K. and Chris Rose, head of the internal and external animation development and production teams at Nickelodeon International and VIS KIDS. Here is a report on the seminar, where they discussed the current position of Japanese animation in the world and what kind of animation works are accepted internationally. With the expansion of overseas markets, the Japanese animation industry is "leading by one or two lengths." The first speaker was animation journalist Sudo. He talked about the current situation of the animation industry in Japan and abroad under the theme of "Overseas Animation Market in the New Era: How has it changed since the Covid-19?" First of all, Sudo introduced the current situation of the domestic animation industry, which has recorded a growth rate of 128% over the past 20 years, and the reason behind this is the overseas market. Speaking about the fact that it is difficult to realize the growth in Japan, he stated that "in terms of a number of people, more than half of the viewers of Japanese anime are overseas," as the licensing business in overseas markets, such as distribution rights for streaming services, is major support. However, among the growing overseas markets, the situation is changing in the Chinese market, where the growth is becoming smaller due to the tightening of regulations on expression and the elimination of competition in buying video distribution platforms due to oligopoly. He analyzed that the reason for the continued growth is due to sales related to game licensing and the influence of emerging markets such as the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Central and South America, which were not previously associated with the market, and in addition to buying programs, there has been an increase in the number of cases where programs have been picked up by "Hollywood majors," such as production investment, anime adaptations in their own countries, and live-action films. While the market is expanding in this way, there is clearly a shortage of animation production companies, and more and more animation is being produced by foreign studios. However, there is still a high demand for domestic brand-name studios that have established stable quality and popularity, and Sudo predicted that "companies that can produce high-quality animation will be in a better position and will be able to negotiate more aggressively." From here, the topic shifted to "What is the overseas business of animation?" He spoke about the importance of considering what fields you are good at and what you can do, especially under the Covid-19 situation, and introduced "five ways to find business partners overseas." The five methods are: "1. Personal dealings (connections/introductions)," "2. Overseas film markets (international trade fairs)," "3. Domestic trade fairs, 4. Seminars/Matching events/Business tours," and "5. Anime/Comic conventions." Of these, personal dealings that have already gained a sense of trust are highly attractive, but difficult for newcomers to enter the industry, and the most effective way to acquire new business partners is through "2. Overseas film markets (international trade fairs)." Turning to the overseas animation industry, he introduced, although it is difficult to compare simple figures, there is no doubt that it continues to expand globally, and the influence of video distribution platforms, in particular, is remarkable. In the past, anime fans of the adult generation were considered the core layer, but now they tend to prefer popular works, and it seems that it is changing to "adults also enjoy anime as entertainment." The strength of Japanese animation in such a situation where foreign animation is gaining momentum lies in the simple power of the original work, which continues to produce highly recognized global IP, and the established business model of marketing to fans. Although the situation that could be called a monopoly is already crumbling, Sudo described the current situation as "leading by one or two lengths." At the end of the session, he mentioned the impact of the Covid-19 on the animation industry. Although production delays have almost returned to normal, the postponement of movie releases and broadcasts has been occurring and is affecting promotions. He said that the most affected area was the event and live performance industry, which had been a very growing field in the past few years, and that it must have been hit hard. International trade fairs are still being postponed or canceled one after another, and there is a great possibility that business opportunities that would have been created through face-to-face meetings are being lost when they are held virtually. At the same time, however, there are some advantages that only online can offer, such as reduced participation costs and increased opportunities, and Sudo predicted that "virtual trade shows" will remain even after the effects of Covid-19 have subsided. Based on this, he concluded his lecture by saying that we need to look into the development of businesses that utilize online as well as trade fairs. What are the "three pillars" that make Nickelodeon's work resonate internationally? The next session was about "the development and pitch of your works and projects. Let's take a look at animation with Nickelodeon". First, Imata Susumu, President and Representative Director of ViacomCBS Networks Japan, appeared as a speaker. He introduced the brand of ViacomCBS Networks, which has a total of 4.2 billion households, 44 languages in 184 countries, and 1.7 billion social fans. In addition to the terrestrial broadcast of "SpongeBob", one of the representative works in Japan, and its development through VOD and online TV, it was also mentioned that the "Nickelodeon" brand introduced this time is a channel that targets a wide range of children from preschoolers to school children. Chris Rose, head of the animation development and production teams both inside and outside of Nickelodeon International and VIS KIDS, appeared on the recorded video to talk about the concept and background of the brand's many innovative and global works. Chris began by describing how reflecting the world of children, their primary target audience, in their productions "has been and always will be essential to their content," and that they are constantly doing research to stay true to that mission. Children want their TV shows to reflect who they are, so they are focusing on making sure that everyone can be replaced by diverse content. He also introduced a number of guidelines for their approach when creating content, such as the fact that Nickelodeon has already been a successful TV animation brand for over 40 years, but now they are conscious of developing their content on multiple platforms at the same time, such as online streaming, to meet their needs. Nickelodeon has been collaborating with kids' content creators around the world to significantly evolve its model. Policies for original series are in place on each continent, and we will focus on three ongoing series in Asia, "DEER SQUAD," "The Twisted Timeline of Sammy & Raj," and "SHARKDOG," as great examples of productions that succeed globally while collaborating with local partners. The first film introduced was "DEER SQUAD," a scenario written in England and produced by a Chinese studio. The four deer characters in the film were originally popular mascots, but evolved from the idea that they could be the stars of an animated TV show. One of the features of this work is that it has a deeper scenario than the usual works for preschoolers, where the universal composition of "good and evil" leads to learning about social feelings and awareness of environmental issues. The next topic was "The Twisted Timeline of Sammy & Raj," which is based on an idea from an intern at Nickelodeon India and is scheduled to air in 2022. There are a huge number of studios in India, and this was introduced as a promising work to prove that India can produce world-class works. The outline of the work is a slapstick drama about two boys who get an app to manipulate time, but the app is just a trigger for the story, and the main theme is designed to be familiar to children, such as "family connections." Chris, the head writer, and the animators attended a creative workshop in Mumbai to share the same vision for the film, and they were able to create a story that is easy to relate to for children all over the world, with a child as the main character, while mixing elements that are popular in India, such as a three-generation family and humorous slapstick. The last one is "SHARKDOG," developed in collaboration with a Singaporean studio and streamed by Netflix. 10-year-old Max meets a creature that is half canine and half shark, with the script written in the US and the animation and storyboarding done in Singapore. Chris had high hopes for this innovative take on the traditional pet story, describing it as "a comical sensibility that everyone around the world can relate to, which is exactly what Nickelodeon is looking for." According to Chris, the characteristics of these Nickelodeon productions are that they are "child-friendly and appear universal based on children's lives and experiences." He also introduced the three pillars that Nickelodeon always talks about when developing a script: "Broad," "Simple," and "Emotional." "Broad" refers to content that has universal appeal to all viewers, such as slapstick comedy and fun characters. "Simple" means that the premise can be easily explained, such as what makes it unique, real-life issues that children can relate to, or a happy ending. And "Emotional" includes not only friendship, teamwork, and character interaction, but also the viewer's interaction with the characters. At the end of the session, Chris answered questions that were sent in beforehand, and introduced some important points to consider when promoting your idea. He concluded the seminar by saying that he is always looking forward to exciting ideas to create Nickelodeon content together. Upcoming seminars The "Overseas Expansion Step-up Program" is a program to learn the skills necessary for overseas expansion. The third seminar will be held on October 29 and the fourth on November 10. Workshops are also scheduled to be held on November 25 and November 30. You can participate in each session by applying through the website up to two business days in advance, and the cost is free.

Avex Inc. has conducted the first completely in-house anime production and game development of Avex Groups. The latest work of the TV anime and game of the "Muv-Luv" series, which is a series loved by fans worldwide, will have a global development at the same time. "Muv-Luv" series is a contents IP of the game that was released in 2003 and is popular within and outside of Japan. "Muv-Luv Alternative", which the TV anime is currently being broadcast, was released in 2006 and it is quite popular among the series as it has taken 1st place for 6 consecutive years on an overseas review website. After being established in 2014, Avex Pictures works as a middle man in enforcing the synergy among the group in terms of the anime and game of Avex Inc., but this time, Avex Pictures together with another company of Avex Groups, including FLAGSHIP LINE, aNCHOR, and fuzz, had joined hand in conducting the first completely in-house anime production and game development. The TV anime "Muv-Luv Alternative" will have aNCHOR handling the original work, Avex Pictures handling the planning, and FLAGSHIP LINE in the production. It will also fully make use of the digital animation technology of Graphinica and the high-quality pictures of the animation studio Yumeta Company. Also, for the battle action game "Project MIKHAIL" for PC, aNCHOR is the publisher (planning, production, selling) while fuzz is the developer. The smartphone's action RPG game "Project Immortal (provisional)" will have aNCHOR in charge as both the publisher and developer. TV anime "Muv-Luv Alternative" has started broadcast on October 6, 2021, on Fuji TV "+Ultra". The pre-release version of the battle action game "Project MIKHAIL" for PC will be released in October while the smartphone's action RPG game "Project Immortal (provisional)" will be released at the end of this year. ＜Below are the full comments＞ CEO of Avex Pictures, Katsumata Hideo The latest series of Muv-Luv will be a project that is the latest manifestation of the rights development and in-house production in the anime and game industry in recent years. Under the situation where the production site could be heard directly, it will feature a group of amazing creators. We believe that we are able to deliver the products that satisfy everyone, so please look forward to it. "Article taken from Anime! Anime! Business/ animeanime.biz"