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Kickstarters Launch for JETRO Collaboration Anime for Studios Ekura Animal, Gorilla, Picona
posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
The five total Kickstarter campaigns for the collaboration anime between five anime studios and JETRO (the Japan External Trade Organization) launched earlier this month. All five campaigns end on February 13 at 12:00 p.m. JST (February 12 at 10:00 p.m. EST).
The Kickstarter campaign for Ekura Animal's Heike Monogatari Emaki cutout-style animation launched on January 5 and has so far earned US$2,708 of its US$23,097 goal.
The goal for the project is to complete a roughly 45-minute film telling the story of the Heike Monogatari epic.
The Kickstarter campaign for creator Hiroki Taniguchi's anime project Hana, The Last Diviner launched on January 10, and the project has earned US$827 of its US$3,849 goal.
The eight-part action fantasy anime plans to tell the story of Hana, who is a self-taught onmyoji during Japan's Meiji Restoration. Taniguchi will produce the work and Ekura Animal will animate the work. The Kickstarter campaign is for a two-minute anime pilot episode that can be used to pitch and promote the series.
The Kickstarter campaign for Picona's Samurai Pirates children's anime launched on January 10 and has raised US$1,737 of its US$76,991 goal.
Picona is partnering with Canadian studio Lakeside Animation Studios to produce the anime about "a girls pop group who have the power to heal the hearts of monsters with song and dance performances!" Picona and Lakeside Animation Studios are hoping to create a six-episode season, with each episode being 11 minutes long.
The Kickstarter campaign for Gorilla's The Top Loft anime launched on January 10 and has raised US$5,335 of its US$35,107 goal.
The studio's long-term goal is to create a 26-episode animated television series, but the campaign as a start is aiming to turn the story into a series of three moving picture books, viewable on tablets and smartphones. The animated series and picture books aim to teach young children "to think, problem solve, and act on their own."
The fifth campaign is for Studio 4°C's previously announced original anime film temporarily titled Future Kid Takara. The Kickstarter campaign launched on January 10, and has raised US$16,792 of its US$23,097 goal.
The Kickstarter campaign will aim to crowdfund a pilot video and help build a fan community for fans to share in the project. Studio 4°C stated investment in the film is steadily increasing, but it hopes to use the pilot video to better persuade investors. The film will tackle the theme of global warming, and Studio 4°C is taking steps to reduce its carbon emissions in the production of the film.
Source: Kickstarter (link 2, link 3, link 4, link 5)