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Hideaki Anno Unveils 'Project Studio Q' to Train Kyushu Animators
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
Anime director and Studio Khara founder Hideaki Anno, Aso Group chairman Takeshi Asō, and Dwango president Nobuo Kawakami announced last year that they are launching a new company named "Project Studio Q" for their "Anime CG Nine" project.
The new project aims to train young animators in the Kyushu region of Japan. The project focuses on CG techniques. The project aims to gather talent from animators outside of Tokyo, citing that as of 2016, there were 622 anime production companies in Japan, with 87.1% of them located in Tokyo.
The project is collaborating with the Aso Group's Aso Pop Culture College, which recently opened in Fukuoka city's Hakata ward on April 1. Anno's Studio Khara is handling lecturing, with assistance from staff by Dwango. Both Khara and Dwango are sending a lecturer for the project.
Anno, Asō, and Kawakami appeared in a Nico Nico Video livestream for the project on July 12. Fukuoka city mayor Sōichirō Takashima was also a guest during the stream.
Anno is a co-founder of the animation studio Gainax, where he made the Neon Genesis Evangelion anime, among other projects. He left Gainax and founded Khara in 2006, where he continues to direct the Rebuild of Evangelion anime project. The studio also oversaw the Japan Animator Expo project.
Asō is the board chairman of the Aso Group, a Fukuoka-based educational corporation, which operates a number of vocational schools.
Kawakami is the president of Dwango, a subsidiary of Kadokawa. He is also the board director of Studio Khara, and acted as a producer for the Japan Animator Expo shorts and The Dragon Dentist anime special.
Update: Corrected name of Fukuoka city mayor. Thanks, Titania.
[Via Minna no Eva Fan]
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