From "Kabaneri" and "Psycho-Pass" to "Ingress! Plus Ultra - Fuji TV Anime Lineup Presentation 2018" Report

On March 9, 2018, "Plus Ultra - Fuji Television Anime Lineup Presentation 2018" was held at Fuji Television's headquarters.

A new framework "+Ultra" with an eye on the world will start in the fall of 2018!

At this presentation, information about new anime to be broadcast on Fuji Television was presented all at once.

In the first part, Mr. Ryo Ohta, Managing Director of Fuji Television Network, took the stage and announced that "+Ultra" would be newly established as a new animation slot following "Noitamina," which is celebrating its 14th year this year.

With the demand for Japanese animation increasing worldwide in recent years, the program is said to be aimed at creating works with an eye on the overseas market by investing a large production budget from the beginning.

It was also announced that Katsuhiro Otomo, internationally acclaimed for his work on "AKIRA" and "Steamboy," would be storyboarding the moving logo for "+Ultra.

Next, such "+Ultra" works were announced one after another.

The first title to be broadcast in October 2018 was announced.

To the surprise of the audience, an anime adaptation of the AR game app "Ingress" by Niantech, known for its development of "Pokémon GO," was announced.

Producer Ishii, who took the stage, commented that the work would be linked to the app, saying, "This is a new project where anime, games, and real-life events coexist," and "Something will happen to 'Ingress' if you watch it in real time.

Director Yuhei Sakuragi has exhibited at the Animation (-tar) Trade Fair, has worked with Hayao Miyazaki and Shunji Iwai on animation production, and is also involved in human character modeling for "Pokémon GO," Hope. He has experience working with Hayao Miyazaki and Shunji Iwai, as well as modeling human characters for "Pokémon GO. I think it would be interesting if the animation influences reality," he said, expressing his enthusiasm for this work.

This is a joint Japan-U.S. project, with Niantech participating in the production from the scenario stage. It will be interesting to see what kind of drama will be spun out of the AR application game that is popular around the world.

Next to be introduced was "REVISIONS REVISIONS," scheduled to begin airing in January 2019.

This work is directed by Goro Taniguchi, director of "Planetes" and "Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion," with Makoto Fukami of the "PSYCHO-PASS Psycho-Pass" series as series composer and screenwriter, Nao Chikaoka of "Wake Up, Girls!" as character design draft, and animation production by the movie "Eternal and "ALWAYS: Sunset on Third Street" for animation production.

The film is an ensemble drama about boys and girls who are suddenly transported to the earth 300 years in the future, including the town of Shibuya.

Director Taniguchi, who took the stage, said, "The image is somewhere between animation and live-action. It will be raw in a good sense. There are meetings with motion actors, and that is important. The production is similar to foreign TV dramas. Director Taniguchi, who has a background in live-action, said that the film is being produced under a system that allows him to take advantage of his expertise. Shirogumi, the production company, is also focusing on realistically depicting the streets of Shibuya in CG, and expectations are high for a realistic depiction of the city.

Lastly, "Carol & Tuesday," scheduled to begin airing in April 2019, was introduced.

The latest work by Shinichiro Watanabe, director of "Cowboy Bebop," "Samurai Champloo," and many other masterpieces, is a film by Eisaku Kubonouchi, known for his character designs in the Nissin Foods Cup Noodle commercials "HUNGRY DAYS The Witch's Delivery Service" and "HUNGRY DAYS Heidi the Alps Girl" and other works. The screenplay is by Aya Watanabe, who has worked on NHK's television series "Carnation" and the film "Josee, the Tiger and the Fish". The music, which will be the main focus of the story, will be composed by Flying Dog, who has composed music for many hit anime series, including the "Macross" series.

Animation production is by BONES. Masahiko Minami, president of BONDS, who took the stage, said, "This project has been in the works for about four years. Director Watanabe, who is also a music producer, chose music as the theme of the film, as he is also a music producer and his images are also musical.

It was also announced that a worldwide audition for vocalists will be held to recruit "singing voices" for the two main characters, "Carol" and "Tuesday". The audition will be held worldwide. The audition is open to vocalists who can sing in English, so if you are one of them, please participate! If you are one of them, we would like you to participate in the audition.

Information about the new works of Noitamina was released!

Following the first part, in which three major works were introduced at once, the second part introduced new "noitamina" works.

First up was "Otaku ni Koi wa Difficult," which will begin airing in April 2018.

Akarisa Date, who plays Narumi Momose, and Kento Ito, who plays Hirotaka Nito, took the stage to talk about the appeal of this work, and it was also revealed that the original author, Fujita, was also involved in the production of the script. This is something that fans of the original work will be happy to hear.

Also on this stage, a new key visual and the announcement that the ED theme would be the debut song "Kimi no Tonari" by new singer, halca.

The stage ended with comments from the cast: "It's a work where you can say you like what you like" (Date) and "a work that makes you laugh, make you a little bit sad, and make you feel warm and fuzzy" (Ito).

Next up was "BANANA FISH," scheduled to air in July 2018 on a two-cour basis.

BANANA FISH" is a representative work of Akio Yoshida, a manga artist who has created numerous hits such as "Umimachi diary," and can be said to be the most remarkable work of the year.

Yuma Uchida, who plays Ash Links, and Kenji Nojima, who plays Eiji Okumura, took the stage. They gave a talk titled "Here's the amazing BANANA FISH.

When asked about the time of the audition, Uchida said, "I recorded the audition tape while I was in bad shape and in a wreck. I guess the reason I was chosen for the role was because I had that feeling of being on the edge and tense. Mr. Nojima said, "I worked on the play as if it were a live-action video. I submitted what came from my heart.

They also expressed their enthusiasm for the film by using one kanji character each: "love" (Uchida) and "life" (Nojima). Uchida and Nojima closed the stage by expressing their thoughts on the kanji, "universal love between two people," and "this is what it means to be alive," respectively.

New theater versions of "Kabaneri" and "Psycho-Pass" are in the works!

The presentation finally reached its climax. In the third part, new movies were introduced.

First, "Penguin Highway" was introduced.

This is a feature-length anime based on the novel by Tomihiko Morimi, the author of "Yoru wa tanshi Koi doshi Otome" and "Shijohan Shinwa Taikei". As this is the first feature-length anime by Studio Colorado, many anime fans may be curious about it.

It is scheduled to be released in August 2018.

Next up is the latest "Kabaneri of Kouetsujo" work, "Kabaneri of Kouetsujo: Kaimon (Unato) Kessen."

Director Tetsuro Araki, who took the stage to talk about this mid-length animated feature film, commented on his passion for the work, saying, "I have feelings for the main characters and wanted to make a continuation of the story. He also revealed that he was in charge of the script this time, taking into account the opinions of Ichiro Okochi, who wrote the script for the TV series, as well as other staff members.

The film is being produced with the goal of "making it an open entertainment.

Also announced was the smartphone app game "Kabaneri the Iron Castle -Ran-," which will feature a story connecting the TV series and "Kaimon Kessen" (Battle of Kaimon). Shohei Komatsu, Tomoyo Kurosawa, and Yuichiro Umehara, who play new characters in the game, and Junpei Kasaoka, scriptwriter and creative director, took the stage.

Mr. Kasaoka expressed his enthusiasm for the project, saying, "We aim to create a work that expands on the Kabaneri style of the past.

The last work in the presentation was the latest in the popular "PSYCHO-PASS Psycho-Pass" anime series.

Since the first series in 2012, "PSYCHO-PASS: Psycho-Pass Sinners of the System," which depicts the most future episodes of the series, which has continued with a "new edited version," a second season, and a theatrical version, will be released in theaters in three consecutive titles starting in January 2019.

This stage will feature the key visuals and the following three titles: Case 1 "Crime and Punishment" <Shimotsuki (CV: Ayane Sakura) x Ginoza (CV: Kenji Nojima) >, Case 2 "First Guardian" <Sugo (CV: Hiroki Higashiji) x Seiriku (CV: Kinryu Arimoto) >, Case 3 "Beyond the Vengeance ____" <Cunning Guy (CV: Tomokazu Seki) >, and Case 4 "The Last of the Vengeance" <Sugoi (CV: Tomokazu Seki) x Ginoza (CV: Tomokazu Seki) >. Case.3 "Beyond the Vengeance of ________" <CV: Tomokazu Seki>" were announced.

Tomokazu Seki, Kenji Nojima, and director Naoyoshi Shiotani took the stage. It was revealed that the recording of "Case.1" had already been completed and that production was progressing very smoothly.

In addition, according to Mr. Seki, he participated in discussions about the characters and was asked by the director for his opinions about the dialogue. It was evident that the staff and cast were working together as one on the production.

All of the presentations, which lasted for about two hours, were full of major news. The presentation was simultaneously broadcast on the "PlusUltra" - Fuji TV Anime Lineup Presentation 2018 - special site, Youtube Live, Periscope, LINE LIVE, etc., and it was announced at the end of the presentation that more than 270,000 people were watching the event.

This event can be archived on the official website of Noitamina until around March 14, so if you are interested in watching it, please do so!