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Shin Godzilla's Shinji Higuchi, Anohana's Mari Okada, BONES Make Modern Dragon TV Anime Hisone to Masotan
posted on by Egan Loo
The "Executive Director Shinji Higuchi's Latest Project Unveiling" event at Tokyo Comic Con announced on Sunday that Higuchi is overseeing the 2018 original television anime Hisone to Masotan for Warner Brothers. Mari Okada (The Anthem of the Heart, anohana) is writing the anime, and Hiroshi Kobayashi (Kiznaiver) is directing. Masahiko Minami, the president of the anime studio BONES (Eureka Seven, Mob Psycho 100), confirmed that his studio is producing the anime. Higuchi noted that he, BONES, and Okada created the original story concept together, and he added that he always wanted to make an original television anime.
The tagline of the anime is, "I will fly the skies with you." The anime will tell "the heartwarming story of dragons tamed by [Japan's] Air Self-Defence Force and their rookie pilots filled with love, laughter, and tears."
Straightforward and innocent Hisone Amakasu is a Self-Defense Force rookie stationed at the Air Self-Defense Force's Gifu Base. She was struggling with the fact that she sometimes hurts people unintentionally by her innocent words and decided to join the Air Self-Defence Force, hoping to maintain a certain distance from people. This decision led her to a fateful encounter which profoundly changed her life. It was the "OTF" dragon hidden in the base and it chose Hisone as his pilot. When it soared into the sky with Hisone, her fate as a dragon pilot was decided. It is said that dragons have a key to the future of the world…
Yoshiyuki Ito (Space Dandy) is adapting the original character designs by Toshinao Aoki (Kimi no Koe o Todoketai) for animation. Shoji Kawamori (Macross) is credited with mechanic design. Shigeto Koyama (Star Driver) is responsible for the monster concept design, and okama is credited with concept design. Taisei Iwasaki (Blood Blockade Battlefront) is composing the music.
Keigo Koyanagi is the military supervisor. Yuji Kaneko is directing the art with art designer Akihiro Hirasawa. Yuko Kobari is designing the color key. Kota Sasaki is directing the photography, and Yota Ando is directing the 3D CG. Hiroshi Okuda is editing. Haru Yamada is directing the sound, and Toru Noguchi is in charge of sound effects.
Higuchi said he is making this "dream" project with the people with whom he most wanted to work together. Higuchi, Minami, Itō and Koyama appeared in person at Sunday's event.
Higuchi is a co-founder of anime studio Gainax, and worked on storyboards and scripts on some of its most notable projects, including Gunbuster, Otaku no Video, and Neon Genesis Evangelion. He directed the live-action films of Hajime Isayama's Attack on Titan manga, and most recently co-directed the Shin Godzilla film alongside fellow Gainax co-founder Hideaki Anno.
Images © BONES, Shinji Higuchi, Mari Okada/Hisone to Masotan Flight Test Unit
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