Report on the presentation of "Technoloid," a new media mix project by Noriyasu Uematsu, RUCCA, and Elements Garden!

On Saturday, November 6, 2021, a presentation of "Technoloids," a new generation media mix project combining animation, games, and music, was held with original ideas by Noriyasu Uematsu, RUCCA, and Elements Garden. The event was broadcast live on YouTube Live and ABEMA.

At the presentation, it was announced that the TV anime "Technoloid Overmind" would be broadcast in 2022, and that the smartphone game "Technoloid Unison Heart" would be released in early 2022, with advance registration starting.
In conjunction with this, the project PV and unit music by Elements Garden were unveiled for the first time. In addition, detailed information about the unit visuals drawn by LAM, the latest information about the 11 characters and cast members, and the project's main staff was also announced.

Technoloid" is a media mix project produced by CyberAgent in collaboration with Avex Pictures and Elements Garden, linking animation, games, and music.
The animation will be produced by Doga Kobo, and the game will be produced by Elements Garden. Animation production will be handled by Dogakobo and game development by Wonder Planet, with the aim of broadcasting the TV animation and releasing the game in 2022.
The story is set in a future Earth where the surface of the Earth has been submerged by the heat of the sun, and androids, who have replaced humans as laborers, aim to reach the top of the entertainment tower "Babel" and perform a live performance called "Climb Stage".

In addition to Noriyasu Uematsu (Elements Garden) and RUCCA, who wrote the original story, and Hiroyuki Tanaka (Cyber Agent), animation producer, the presentation was attended by KNOCC members: Kazuki Urawa (Cobalt), Toshi Shibuya (Chrome), and Hiromu Mineta (Kay), who played Cobalt, Keigo Hagiya, who plays Light, a member of "STAND-ALONE," and Takeo Otsuka, who plays Awl, a member of "Metallica Metanica" took the stage.

They discussed the appeal of "Technoloid," which is about to embark on a new venture, and their expectations for the future.

From left: Noriyasu Agematsu, RUCCA, and Hiroyuki Tanaka

First on stage were Noriyasu Uematsu, the original concept designer, Mr. RUCCA, and animation producer, Hiroyuki Tanaka.
This project started a little over four years ago. Mr. Agematsu had originally talked with producer Tanaka about working together on a "music" animation, and at that time Mr. Agematsu offered to write a story for lyricist RUCCA, who he thought had a wonderful way of putting lyrics to EDM-type music.
In response, RUCCA thought, "I want to come up with something different from the existing ones," and suggested the idea that the android's heart might also grow with the song. I guess my lyrics fit with EDM, so we decided to go with that," said RUCCA, describing the episode of the launch of this project.
Producer Tanaka commented, "This will be a large-scale project that mixes anime, games, and music. He added, "All the characters are good guys. There are no villains, or rather, it is a very gentle anime. We held auditions to see if we could fit the characters, and as a result, fresh young voice actors and those who were trying voice acting for the first time were chosen. We chose them based on whether they fit the characters without much consideration of their titles," he said about the casting process.

At this stage, the visuals of the characters were also unveiled. Uematsu commented on the characters drawn by illustrator LAM, saying, "They are so cool! The primary colors are used, but it's amazing how they all come together.

Daisuke Kikuta (Elements Garden), the main composer of this work, also made a video comment. He said, "The music started with the concept of making the music mechanical and android-like. It was quite a challenge for me in terms of the music, and Elements Garden put all of its energy into it," he said enthusiastically.

Incidentally, RUCCA expressed his confidence in the music, saying that he has already finished writing 30 vocal songs and that the variety is so rich that he is sure he will find music he likes.

In the latter half of the presentation, the cast appeared on stage, replacing the staff members. KNOCC members Urawaki (Cobalt), Kei Shibuya (Chrome), Daimu Minetoda (Kay), and kayto (Neon), STAND-ALONE member Keigo Hagiya (Light), and Metallica Metanica member Keigo Hagiya (Awl) took the stage. took the stage to discuss the appeal of the characters, their works, and music.

First, the members of "KNoCC (Knox)" introduced themselves and explained about the characters they play. Urawaki described Cobalt, the central character in the story, as "a cheerful and boisterous mood-maker. He is like a mood maker and leader who pulls the members along. He is so energetic and full of energy that he is struggling to express his energy, and is "exhausted by the end of the recording session.

From left: Kei Shibuya (Chrome), Kazuki Urawa (Cobalt), kayto (Neon), and Hiromu Mineta (Kay).

Regarding the unit's song "KNOCKIN' ON x LOCKIN' ON," Mr. Kayto, who plays the role of Neon, said, "I felt that it was an exciting song that pulled an uplifting feeling out of the bottom of my stomach and chest. Kei Shibuya, who plays the role of Chrome, said, "Well, it's cool! This is the first song we are releasing as KNOCC, so it is a song that also expresses the world view of "Technoloid" well", he said, describing its appeal.
As an episode from the recording session, Daisumu Minesada, who plays the role of Kei, said, "We had discussions about what kind of song to make while thinking about what the characters were thinking, and we took on many challenges. After listening to "Knockin' On x Lockin' On," I hope you will listen to the other songs as well.

Next, "STAND-ALONE" was introduced. The three members are Kite (CV: Makoto Furukawa), Light (CV: Keigo Hagiya), and Knight (CV: Takehito Kajiwara). Mr. Hagiya took the stage for the presentation, while Mr. Furukawa and Mr. Kajiwara appeared via video commentary.
Ms. Hagiya, who is trying her hand at voice acting for the first time, expressed her joy by saying, "I have always been interested (in voice acting), so I was happy to be accepted for the audition.
The title of their song is "Not Standing Alone. Ms. Hagiya said, "It's a song that starts out as a song, but the impact of the song is that when (twins) Knight and Light get everyone excited, the image of them singing a guttural, tight song comes to mind, and that's what makes it so cool. And they are doing something technically advanced, so they are indeed a top group," he explained about the song. Having not yet met the other members of the group, he said he was conscious of "how to create a sense of twinning with Mr. Kajiwara (Knight's character)" during the recording session.

Lastly, "Methanica Metallica" was introduced, whose goal is to "make people smile. The four members are Silva (CV: Junya Enoki), Aul (CV: Takeo Otsuka), Lana (CV: Chento Sugibayashi), and Jin (CV: Sogo Nakamura). Mr. Otsuka took the stage for the presentation, while Mr. Enoki, Mr. Sugibayashi, and Mr. Nakamura appeared via video commentary.
Regarding their song "Metallic Holic," Mr. Otsuka said that his first impression was "I like ....... He also commented that the song itself has an inorganic feel to it, but that he could feel their passion as a unit.
The character he plays, Aul, is a complex character who is apathetic and unmotivated but does not dislike performing, so he went into the recording thinking, "How would Aul sing this kind of song?

From left: Hiromu Mineta, Keigo Hagiya (Light), and Takeo Otsuka (Owl).

The second half of the cast's corner was a talk using a flip chart. The question was, "Who is the most ____ member of the group? The members were asked to write down the name of the member closest to the question and talk based on that name.


The members were asked to write down the name of a member who could easily express their feelings of joy, anger, sadness, and anger. The cast members other than Mr. Ura unanimously answered "Mr. Ura. His cheerful and straightforward character is exactly suited to the role of chairperson. It was a moment that gave a strong impression of the cast's presence as the center of the "Technoloids" content.

Finally, an announcement was made about future developments.
Pre-registration for the smartphone game version, scheduled for release in 2022, began on November 6, the day of the presentation.
A TV animation is scheduled to be broadcast in 2022.
In addition, the company plans to use SNS for media development, especially on Instagram, where information will be posted to immerse the audience in the world of "Technoloids," and on TikTok, where various expressions of the "KNOCC" members will be shown.

After the presentation, the staff surprised Toshi Shibuya, who celebrated his birthday on November 3, and Keigo Hagiya, who celebrated his birthday on November 7, with birthday cakes.
The audience couldn't help but smile at the exchange, which showed how close the staff and cast members are.
It will be very interesting to see what kind of wonderful contents will be created by this team.

Production Information
Technoloids

Techno Roid" is a media mix project produced by CyberAgent in collaboration with Avex Pictures and Elements Garden, which combines animation, games, and music.
The animation will be produced by Animation Studio, and the music will be produced by Elements Garden. Animation production will be handled by Animation Studio and game development by Wonder Planet, with the aim of releasing the game and broadcasting the anime in 2022.

＜Production Staff
Original Story：Noriyasu Uematsu×RUCCA×Elements Garden
Original Story：Shibaura Android Laboratory
Director：Imugahi
Supervisor：Ai Yoshimura
Series Composition : Ayumi Sekine
Character Planning：LAM
Character Design：Saori Sakiaguchi
Music: Elements Garden×RUCCA
Sound Director: Yukio Nagasaki
Title & Logo Production: Rairai Kosha
CG Production: LOGIC&MAGIC
Animation Production: Animation Studio
Game development and operation: Wonder Planet

© Shibaura Androids Laboratory/TECHNO-OM Project
© Shibaura android laboratory/TECHNO-UH Project