All the News and Reviews from Anime Expo 2025

MFINDA: A Journey Between Worlds, presented by N LITE

I challenge you to find an anime out there that's channeling the soul of Studio Ghibli as well as N LITE's upcoming film MFINDA. N LITE aims to redefine the boundaries of the anime industry by drawing from authentic cultures and untapped stories of the African diaspora, and the results so far are stunning.

MFINDA, the first-ever Black + Japanese-led feature film, represents their first bold step into the limelight. This was also the first public-facing showcase of so much detail for MFINDA, and it's no exaggeration to say that the audience was caught off guard by the caliber of art that was shown off. Multiple times, the crowd audibly gasped when a new slide with another piece of exceptional watercolor art appeared, and the panelist on the mic stopped mid-sentence to comment.

The first guest in line was Christiano Terry, founder of N LITE, and Co-Creator, Producer, and Screenwriter for MFINDA. Studio N LITE is a black-owned anime studio collaborating with Japanese studio partners and international artists to make original anime films. You could have an entire panel dedicated to this topic alone!

Next was Patience Lekien, Chief Artist at N LITE and the creator of MFINDA. He serves as Art Director on the film. Before yielding to the next guest, he mentions something that everyone in the room can get behind: “A lot of us have this in common here. I love Ghibli.”

The topic of Ghibli and its influence on the panelists came up multiple times. And it's no wonder, because every visual shown on screen would look right at home in a Ghibli art gallery. From the character art to the stunning watercolor backgrounds, it was clear that these creators were disciples of The Ghibli Way.

Also on stage was Donald Hewitt, Chief of Story at N LITE. He did the English translation of Spirited Away and has been a professional screenwriter for 25 years. There was also Rodney Uhler, Director of Acquisitions at GKIDS, and Producer on MFINDA.

Before we moved further, Christiano talked a little bit about the origins of N LITE as an anime studio as a way to introduce Arthell Isom. “[N LITE is] a media company and animation studio based in the US and Tokyo. And I have to give my props to Arthell, because he was the first foreign person ever, not just a black foreign person, to have an anime studio in Japan. So we're following his footsteps.”

It's starting to crystallize for the audience that these people are the real deal. They've put in the work to fully steep themselves in anime and the industry itself. And you can tell that the team behind MFINDA places the same importance on storytelling as well.

“[N LITE is] about taking what anime is right now, which is a global form, and bringing global storytelling into anime,” Christiano says. He believes that while MFINDA centers on a Congolese main character and features Congolese mythology and culture, it's breaking down the cultural boundaries of anime because the underlying themes are universal. Connecting with our ancestors, respecting nature, honoring traditions while embracing the future… Ghibli's work is proof that these kinds of stories resonate with audiences everywhere.

MFINDA is the story of a 13-year-old Congolese girl named Odi, who's transported to the MFINDA, a primordial forest of spirits, gods, and ancestors. There she joins another young girl from a different time, and embarks on a journey to find the magical Nkisi in hopes of finding her way back home.

The team encountered some skepticism within the industry that Japanese people would be motivated to work on an anime about Africans. But the compelling story of MFINDA and the passion Christiano and the folks at N LITE had for it attracted the attention of legendary anime producer Masao Maruyama, known for iconic works like Perfect Blue, Ninja Scroll, and Tokyo Godfathers. He and Studio M2 are now directly involved in the project. He's even stated that he expects MFINDA to be his final film.

What about GKIDS' involvement? They're a powerhouse distribution agency, and MFINDA will look right at home alongside their library of Ghibli titles. “If you've lived the human experience, you're inspired or influenced by Studio Ghibli. But what stood out is how Patience [Lekien] … used that inspiration to create something unique.” GKIDS sees in N LITE not just a knack for putting that Ghibli spirit to page, but a clear vision for driving anime forward into new territory.

Arthell Isom, CEO of D'Art Shtajio and Co-Director on MFINDA was asked about his decision to keep things purely hand-drawn, despite the industry getting more and more comfortable mixing 2D with 3D/CGI methods.

Just as he started to answer, the crowd gasped at a slide showing off a character named Queen Simbi. After some excited chatter from the audience and the panelists themselves, he resumed.

Arthell recalls a time when all the 2D animation studios were closing down and 3D was taking over. That inspired him to move to Japan and keep the 2D art style alive, which led to establishing D'Art Shtajio.

The slideshow then advanced to a section of watercolor art, which elicited oohs and ahhs from the audience over the next several minutes. Even Christiano, as he's answering a question about Viola Davis' JuVee Productions being involved, can't help but gush over the art a little bit himself. “Yeah, I love this watercolor art!”

VISUALS OF WATERCOLOR ART

Attention turns toward Donald Hewitt, who says that the way you can feel Hayao Miyazaki's love for his characters in his films was something he and Patience worked hard at. “We wanted to approach these characters with a lot of love and respect.”

What other cultures can we hope to see brought to life from N LITE? One project in the queue, called Chiure: Child of the Sea, is an animated film inspired by Mozambican folklore. The main character in Chiure also has a connection to nature, but instead of the forest, as in MFINDA, it's to the sea.

CHIURE VISUAL

According to Christiano, they're working with Studio Lucen, who worked with Disney on the Emmy-nominated Kizazi Moto, and are even bringing African artists to Japan to work on the project.

Riding the energy and enthusiasm in the room, Christiano couldn't help but share another project coming down the pike. “I can say this because we signed a contract. We will be remaking Jungle Emperor Leo from Tezuka Productions.” Whoa! The audience is a little stunned, and perhaps a little bit skeptical given how casually it was mentioned, but once it became clear that he was serious, the audience cheered.

“Jungle Emperor Leo is an example of how we're not just doing original stories, but also collaborating with legendary Japanese studios to reinvigorate their IP for a now global audience,“ he says.

After that stunner, they went back to the topic of MFINDA. They revealed that Jaden Smith would be voicing the role of Kozo in his return to anime. His last role was in 2017's Neo Yokio. He'll also be contributing music to the film and serves as Executive Producer.

JADEN / KOZO VISUAL

The panel was capped off by some Q&A. One audience member asked about the hostility toward black storytelling we've seen in the world, and whether the team has any worries or concerns.

The panelists expressed that they know no fear. “It's important to do things like this at this time. These kinds of stories are things that the world needs to show we are more unified than we see on TV.” They're determined to make sure that any media and stories they put out into the world “reflect all the joy we have in this room.”

Indeed, the crowd felt inspired by the art, by the confidence of the creators on stage, and by the collaborative effort between them and established anime industry professionals in Japan.

Tony Weaver is amazed at the diversity of the collaborators on MFINDA, and feels that it proves the haters wrong. “Very often, naysayers and people who would like to dissuade people from watching black characters, they feel like they own the fandom,” he says. But MFINDA's long list of established collaborators is proof that what everyone wants is simple: universal stories, told through interesting perspectives.

If the recent discourse around AI tools generating knock-off Ghibli-esque images has you feeling like we've reached an artistic dead end, let MFINDA, N LITE, and the people who've placed their trust and confidence in it reassure you that the fire hasn't dwindled – it's burning bright.