Ingress", the first of Fuji Television's new TV anime slot "+Ultra", scheduled to start in October 2018, main staff announced at a user event!

Ingress," the first episode of Fuji Television's new TV anime slot "+Ultra" scheduled to start in October 2018, was held on Saturday, April 7 at "Mission Day Fukuoka" and "XM Festival Fukuoka," user events for "Ingress," which has been downloaded more than 20 million times around the world. The event featured the world premiere of animated characters and an AR stage greeting by the animated characters.

On April 7 (Sat), "Mission Day Fukuoka" and "XM Festival Fukuoka," user events for "Ingress," were held in Fukuoka City.

Ingress" has been downloaded more than 20 million times worldwide, and more than 2,000 real events have been held around the world.
The first event of 2018 (in Japan) was a great success, with more than 3,000 players registering to attend.

At the event, the redesigned user interface and sound design of Ingress Prime, the next-generation version of Ingress announced last year, was unveiled, and the prospects for building the foundation for further mobile AR experiences were discussed. The official report has just arrived, and we would like to share it with you.

Official Report

Last month on March 8 (Thu), Fuji Television Network announced a new anime slot, "+Ultra" (Plus Ultra). 14 years after starting broadcasting in the "Noitamina" slot in April 2005, Fuji Television's announcement to try a new TV anime slot has attracted attention not only from the anime industry but from anime fans worldwide The announcement of Fuji Television's decision to take on the challenge of a new TV animation slot has attracted attention not only from the animation industry but from animation fans around the world.
The company's concept is to "spread anime culture to the world" and will continue to deliver high-quality, world-class animation productions.

◆"+Ultra" first TV animation "Ingress
The first TV animation series "Ingress," which will start airing in October 2018, is the core of the [augmented reality entertainment] project centered on "Ingress," a location-based game for smartphones provided by Niantic, Inc. that has users all over the world. An animated TV series is currently in production.

More than 3,000 players from around the world have registered to participate in the real event of ◆ game "Ingress!
On Saturday, April 7, "Mission Day Fukuoka" and "XM Festival Fukuoka," user events for "Ingress," were held in Fukuoka City.
The first event in 2018 (in Japan) was attended by more than 3,000 players, and the second event was held in Fukuoka, Japan. The first event in 2018 (in Japan) was a great success, with over 3,000 players registering to participate.

At the event, the redesigned user interface and sound design of Ingress Prime, the next-generation version of Ingress announced last year, were unveiled, and the vision of building the foundation for further mobile AR experiences was discussed.

◆Ar stage greeting by animated characters!
Makoto", "Sarah", and "Jack", the main characters of the TV anime "Ingress", appeared in AR (Augmented Reality) at the event. The main characters of "Ingress", "Makoto", "Sarah", and "Jack", appeared on stage with John Hanke, CEO of Niantic, Inc. and Yuji Kawashima, General Manager of Asia, to greet the audience on stage using AR (Augmented Reality) technology. Mr. Kawashima gave a speech on the stage, saying, "I am very happy to see both sides of the management team. Mr. Kawashima asked the audience, "Which side are you on? The heroine was able to communicate interactively with the characters on the AR screen.
Afterwards, director Yuhei Sakuragi and producer Tomohiko Ishii from Crafter, which is in charge of the animation production, took the stage to talk about the "Ingress" TV anime, and a video exclusive to the event was shown, revealing the world of the animated "Ingress.
　The audience was also able to see how the characters announced this time will fare in the world of "augmented reality entertainment" (......). The audience was excited by the announcement of the new characters.

Makoto

Sarah

Jack

Speakers' comments】 ※Titles omitted
John Hanke, CEO, Niantic, Inc.
Comment: I recently had the opportunity to see a movie in progress at Crafter's Studio and realized that the great scenario, a joint effort of the Japanese creative team and Niantic, Inc. story creators, was expressed in the best possible visuals. The world of Ingress as envisioned by all the agents, including myself, is being visualized, and it is like a dream come true.

Profile: CEO of Niantic, Inc. known for the development of "Pokemon GO," etc. As Vice President of Google's GEO Group, he was involved in the development of "Google Earth," "Google Maps," and "Google Street View. Niantic, Inc. was spun off from Google in August 2015 as Niantic, Inc. from the internal startup Niantic Labs.

■Niantic, Inc. Asia General Manager: Yuushi Kawashima
Comment: Ingres is a search for something that is invisible to the eye, but is definitely there. This time, we had anime characters appear on a real stage with the power of AR, and I think people could feel their presence, and through this anime project, I hope we can create a new experience that has never been seen before. I am a big fan of the works of Mr. Yu Honda, so I am truly honored to have been able to work with him on Ingress. I am very happy to have such a wonderful staff working on the Ingress animation.

Profile: Mr. Honda is the Executive Producer and General Manager of Asia for Niantic, Inc. In 2013, he joined Niantic Labs, an in-house startup at the time, as a UX/Visual Designer and was in charge of visual and UX design for "Ingress". For "Pokemon GO," he was in charge of launching the development project.

■Crafter Director: Yuhei Sakuragi
Comment: Using the latest digital technology, we are challenging ourselves to create new animated images. I am conscious of the balance between Japan's unique animation direction and visual expressions and stories that can be enjoyed around the world, and I hope to create a work that can compete as entertainment for the world.

Profile: Animation Director. Belonging to Crafter, he has been releasing high-profile works, focusing on "Smart CG," an animation technique using the latest technology. His major works include "Soutai Sekai" (writer/director), "Shinseiki Inpakutsu. (scriptwriter/director) and "Hana to Alice Murder Case" (CG director). He is one of the most popular young creators in Japan today.

■Crafter Producer: Tomohiko Ishii
Comment: The staff meticulously scouted real locations, and the story progresses along with reality. It is a challenge to create a work as if the animation world is happening in real life. The entire staff will do its utmost to meet this unprecedented challenge in production.

Profile: Director and producer of Crafter Co. He was the assistant producer of "Spirited Away" and "Howl's Moving Castle" at Studio Ghibli, and produced "The Sky Crawlers" and "Ghost in the Shell 2.0" at Production I.G. He established Crafter in 2011.

◆The main staff of TV animation "Ingress" is released!
Starting with this event, the main staff of TV anime "Ingress" was also announced.
(writer/director), "Soutai Sekai" (writer/director), "Shinseiki Inpatsu. (scriptwriter/director) and "Hana to Alice Murder Case" (CG director), and is directed by up-and-coming creator Yuhei Sakuragi. Production is by Animation Studio Crafter, which continues to release high-quality works that make full use of digital technology. Tomohiko Ishii, director of the studio, will serve as producer. The original character designs announced this time are by Yu Honda, who worked as the chief animation director for the "Evangelion" series.

Production Information
TV animation "Ingress
＜Staff
Original Story: Niantic, Inc.
Director：Yuhei Sakuragi
Screenplay : Soki Tsukishima / Tora Tsukishima
Music : Hidehiro Kawai
Character Planning：Mao Honda
Assistant Director: Keiya Irikawa
CG Director: Atsushi Furukawa
Art Director: Hiroshi Kato (Tonyan) / Hirofumi Sakagami
Assistant Art Director: Homi Arai
Modeling Director: Masashi Miyaoka
Animation Director: Maru Kobayashi
Director of Photography: Tatsuya Nomura
Animation Production: Crafter

＜INTRODUCTION>

The year is 2013 at CERN, a Swiss nuclear research organization.
In the shadow of the discovery of the Higgs boson particle, a secret project was launched.
The project is called the "Niantic Project.
The purpose of the project was to study an unknown substance that interferes with the human psyche.

The substance, which was to be called "Exotic Matter (XM),"had been affecting people's minds and abilities since ancient times, and had even had a major impact on the history of mankind.

Institutions around the world have worked in secret to study it.
XM is regarded as a hope or a threat to mankind, and a war of attrition ensues between major powers and giant corporations.

The "Enlightened" accepted the power of XM and tried to use it for human evolution.
The "resistance" sees XM as a threat and tries to control it.

The world is divided into two camps, and they continue to fight.
Behind the conflict that is taking place in this world lies the existence of XM.
And now, in 2018...

A new battle over XM begins in Tokyo and around the world.

A new "augmented reality entertainment" never before experienced, where animation, online location-based games, and reality are linked, is about to begin.

(C) "Ingress" Production Committee