Netflix Tease Upcoming Anime Slate At Festival Of Japan 2021
Netflix has found great success with anime in recent years. So much so that it has a dedicated Netflix Anime department that commissions not only genuine Japanese animation but also co-productions and anime-style animation from other countries. Over the past few years, the company has held a special event to put the focus on their upcoming anime slate.
The two-day Festival Of Japan kicked off in Tokyo with the dedicated Anime Day on November 8. Netflix previewed an impressive slate of programming from established and upcoming Japanese talent and announced that were planning a major expansion into Japanese feature film, both animated and live-action. The selection included both previously announced and brand new titles. Netflix said that over 120 million households had watched anime in total- more than double the figure for 2018.
Tiger and Bunny 2, a sequel to Sunrise's superhero/reality TV satire was revealed as coming to Netflix globally in 2022. The series was revealed some time ago, but Netflix's involvement was not previously announced. Also announced was the new six-episode sci-fi series The Orbital Children, and Kakeguiri Twin and multi-part movie series The Seven Deadly Sins: Grudge Of Edinburgh- both of which are spin-offs/continuations of earlier Netflix anime.
Netflix also revealed that two new spin-off from the blockbuster Detective Conan franchise- also known in English as Case Closed. The Culprit Hanazawa and Zero's Tea Time both put the focus on characters featured in the original series.
The second day's live-action programming included several titles adapted from manga and anime. As well as a second season of Alice In Borderlands, Netflix also revealed an adaptation of classic Supernatural Shonen series Yu Yu Hakusho coming 2023 will join the previously announced Gundam live-action movie and this month's Cowboy Bebop series.
Watch the entire presentation here, and check out the highlights below.
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure :STONE OCEAN
ETA: December 1, 2021 (Episodes 1-12 )
Synopsis: "Florida, U.S.A, 2011 -- After an accident while on a drive with her sweetheart, Jolyne Cujoh falls into a trap and is sentenced to fifteen years at the state-run maximum-security correctional facility Green Dolphin Street Prison—AKA "the Aquarium." On the verge of despair, she receives a pendant from her father that causes a mysterious power to awaken inside of her. "There are things in this world that are more terrifying than death, and what's happening in this prison is definitely one of them." A message from a mysterious boy who appears before Jolyne, inexplicable events that occur one after another, the horrifying truth told to her by her father when he comes to visit, and the name DIO… Will Jolyne ultimately be set free from this stone ocean they call a prison? The final battle to end the century-long, fateful confrontations between the Joestar family and DIO begins!"
Talent Original manga by Hirohiko Araki Chief Director: Kenichi Suzuki Director: Toshiyuki Kato Series Composition: Yasuko Kobayashi Character Design: Masanori Shino Designer of the Stand: Shunichi Ishimoto Sound Director: Yoshikazu Iwanami Music: Yugo Kanno Animation Production: David production Inc.
The Seven Deadly Sins: Grudge of Edinburgh
Synopsis: "With over 37 million copies sold and winning in the children’s category of the 39th Kodansha Manga Award, the mega-hit The Seven Deadly Sins (original work: Nakaba Suzuki) is receiving a spin-off anime film. This film will feature an original story by Suzuki. Split into two parts, the story will follow Tristan, the son of The Seven Deadly Sins protagonists Meliodas and Elizabeth. Tristan inherits the power of the Goddess Clan and can heal people's wounds and injuries, but he often ends up hurting others due to his inability to control his Demon Clan power. To protect his family, Tristan heads to Edinburgh Castle and meets a host of new friends along the way."
Talent: Based on the manga The Seven Deadly Sins (published by Kodansha in Weekly Shonen Magazine) by Nakaba Suzuki Supervising Director: Noriyuki Abe Director: Bob Shirahata Screenplay: Rintaro Ikeda Production Company: Alfred Imageworks × Marvy Jack
Kakegurui Twin
Synopsis: "This series tells the story of Mary Saotome’s gambling feats one year before Yumeko Jabami transferred to her school. The story begins with Mary Saotome, a normal girl, entering the academy. "
Talent: Based on the manga Kakegurui Twin by Homura Kawamoto and Kei Saik (published in the monthly magazine Gan Gan JOKER by SQUARE ENIX Animation Production: MAPPA
The Orbital Children
Synopsis: "The story begins in the year 2045, when AI has advanced and anyone can travel into space. Children born on the moon and children from Earth who are on a trip to space meet at the Japanese-built Anshin space station. The series will consist of six episodes and will be distributed worldwide!"
Talent: Creator, Writer & Director: Mitsuo Iso (Coil a Circle of Children) Character Design: Kenichi Yoshida (Eureka Seven, Gundam Reconguista in G) Lead Animator: Toshiyuki Inoue (Coil a Circle of Children, Ghost In The Shell Art Director: Yasuke Ikeda Color Design: Miho Tanaka Music: Rei Ishizuka Sound Director: Yoji Shimizu Production: Production +h
TIGER & BUNNY 2
Synopsis: "In Sternbild City, people of all races and ethnicities live alongside humans with superhuman abilities called NEXT, who use their NEXT abilities to maintain peace. Heroes wear sponsor logos, help solve crimes and save people in order to improve the image of their companies and acquire hero points. Their activities are broadcast on the popular show “Hero TV,” where the heroes try to climb the annual rankings and aim to be the “King of Heroes.” Kotetsu T. Kaburagi and Barnaby Brooks Jr. continue their hero activities to boost the image of their company, Apollon Media, as well as maintain peace. The hero system that originated in Sternbild City has now been adopted in places around the world. As more and more heroes appear, a new hero enters Sternbild City. Now that they are more veteran heroes, will Kotetsu and Barnaby be able to live up to the expectations put on them?! "
Talent: Director: Mitsuko Kase Series Composition, Writer & Story Director: Masafumi Nishida Character Design & Hero Design: Masakazu Katsura Developed, Produced, and based on the work of: BN Pictures
Detective Conan: The Culprit Hanazawa
Synopsis: "Spin-off of the original manga by Gosho Aoyama, written and illustrated by Mayuko Kanba. A town of crime, Beika Town. A mysterious Dark Shadow descends onto this town that ranks among the highest crime rates in the world. His (or her?) goal is to kill a “certain man.” That key player in Detective Conan is now a protagonist! Clad in tights and possessing a pure intellect, this person’s name is… the (pseudonymous) Culprit Hanazawa!"
Detective Conan: Zero’s Tea Time
SYNOPSIS: Supervised by original author, Gosho Aoyama. Original manga by Takahiro Arai. Sometimes he is the famed detective Kogoro Mori’s younger brother, Toru Amuro. Other times he is Rei Furuya, a police officer protecting Japan. Still other times he is Bourbon, a man clad in black. No one knows the private life of the man who wears three faces...or so it was thought. The simple everyday life of Toru Amuro, a man cloaked in light and shadow, is revealed here.
AGGRETSUKO Season 4
Synopsis: "Frustrated with her thankless office job, Retsuko the Red Panda copes with her daily struggles by belting out death metal karaoke after work. After becoming an underground idol to pay off her debts, Retsuko decides to quit OTMGirls and enjoy living a happy, normal life… but just as the company she works for is facing big changes, her relationship with Haida finally begins to move. "
Talent: Original character by: Sanrio Directed and screenplay by: Rarecho Animation Production: Fanworks
Kotaro Lives Alone
Synopsis: "Ding-dong! There is a little boy standing at the door. He hands over a nice box of tissues as a gift and says, “My name is Sato, and I have just moved in to number 203. Pleased to make your acquaintance.” He is Kotaro Sato, and he has moved into Shimizu Apartments to live by himself. He is four years old. He makes his daily shopping trips alone with a toy sword strapped to his side. Both grown-up and childish at the same time, Kotaro starts to affect the people around him with his wise ways. This is the story of a four-year-old boy who is determined to live strong until the day he can live with his parents."
Talent: Based on the manga Kotaro Lives Alone (published by Shogakukan in Big Comic Superior) by Mami Tsumura Director: Tomoe Makino Character Design: Tomomi Kimura Composition: Hiroshi Satо
Vampire in the Garden
Synopsis: "One cold winter, humanity lost its battle with the vampires, and with it, most of where they called home. A small population of survivors created a wall of light in a small town to protect them and give them a place to live in peace. The protagonist, Momo, lives a repressed life but still wishes to coexist with the enemy, the vampires. Fine, the vampire queen, once loved humans and disappeared from the battlefield. As war rages through the humans’ town, the two have a fateful encounter. Once upon a time, humans and vampires lived in harmony in a place called Paradise. This is the story of a young girl and a vampire on a journey to find Paradise."
Talent: Director: Ryoutarou Makihara (Hal, The Empire of Corpses) Assistant Director: Hiroyuki Tanaka (Attack on Titan) Character Design/Supervising Director: Tetsuya Nishio (Naruto, The Sky Crawlers) Art Setting: Satoshi Takabatake, Kazushi Fujii Music: Yoshihiro Ike Animation Production: WIT STUDIO
ULTRAMAN Season 2
ETA: Coming 2022
Synopsis: "Several years have passed since the events of Ultraman, with the legendary "Giant of Light" (光の巨人 Hikari no Kyojin) now a memory, as it is believed he returned home after fighting the many giant aliens that invaded the Earth. Shin Hayata's son Shinjiro seems to possess a strange ability, and it is this ability, along with his father's revelation that he was Ultraman, that leads Shinjiro to battle the new aliens invading the Earth as the new Ultraman."
Talent: Based on a comic by: Tsuburaya Production, Eiichi Shimizu & Tomohiro Shimoguchi Directors: Kenji Kamiyama & Shinji Aramaki Music: Nobuko Toda & Kazuma Jinnouchi Production: Production I.G. & SOLA DIGITAL ARTS
Rilakkuma’s Theme Park Adventure
ETA: 2022: TBA
Synopsis: "Rilakkuma’s new animated series Rilakkuma’s Theme Park Adventure takes to the screen in 2022! This new stop-motion animation series is written by Makoto Ueda and Takashi Sumita of the theater troupe Europe Kikaku. This series is produced by Dwarf, directed by Masahito Kobayashi of the same studio, and produced by San-X. In addition to Kaoru (voiced by Mikako Tabe), who first appeared in Rilakkuma and Kaoru, Rilakkuma, Korilakkuma, and Kiiroitori go to play at a theme park that is about to close. There, they encounter many events and meet different people in this eight-episode series of 15-minute episodes depicting their active daily lives."
Talent: Director: Masahito Kobayashi (Dwarf) Screenplay: Takashi Sumita, Makoto Ueda (Europe Kikaku) Production: dwarf studios, xpd Inc. Production: San-X Co., Ltd.
