News

Wit Studio, Tow Ubukata Collaborate on 'Moonrise' Project Starting with Free English Prologue Novel

Animation studio Wit Studio announced on Tuesday that it is partnering with author Tow Ubukata (Mardock Scramble original creator, script for Ghost in the Shell Arise, Heroic Age, Fafner) on a new project titled Moonrise (working title).

As part of the project, Wit Studio and Ubukata released a prologue novel for free in English on Amazon on December 20, also titled Moonrise. According to the Amazon listing, Matt Treyvaud translated the novel. The company stated on Twitter that the prologue novel will be free only December 28.

Wit Studio stated that the project "takes place in the near future and will be set in both the Moon and on Earth." Wit Studio president and CEO George Wada describes the project:

"Moonrise" will portray the lives of two men, Jack and Al, as they confront various hardships in the vast world of outer space. All action and scenery in the unexplored parts of the Moon will be illustrated using an innovative type of animation unlike any seen before. My sincere wish is that this project inspires contemporary lives everywhere.

As the description above indicates, the project will include an animated work. Wada stated about the project, "We are committed to working on this project in Japan and sharing the results with the world."

Ubukata's debut work Kuroi Kisetsu (The Black Season) won the first Sneaker Taisho Gold Prize award in 1996. His Mardock Scramble novel won the Nihon SF Taisho Award in 2003. His The Universe Revealed historical novel released in 2009 won the Booksellers Award, the Yoshikawa Eiji Prize for New Writers, and a Naoki Award.

Wit Studio is known for such anime as Attack on Titan, Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress, The Ancient Magus' Bride, and After the Rain. The company recently partnered with OLM on the Pokémon the Movie: The Power of Us film, and the company is currently working on the Vinland Saga television anime.

Source: Email correspondence