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Chocolate Inc. Aims to Release Its 1st Anime Film, KILLTUBE, in Spring 2026

Japanese company CHOCOLATE Inc., (live-action film Mondays/See You “This” Week!, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba's Total Concentration exhibition, production and publicity for Dark Gathering anime) has launched plans to produce its first anime film, KILLTUBE, and it started streaming a "pilot film" on Monday. The company is targeting the 90-minute film for spring 2026, with plans for a worldwide release.

The pilot film video has the theme of "Edo punk." It depicts Tokyo's Shibuya and Shinjuku districts in a parallel world, where the Edo shogunate has closed off Japan for over four centuries into 2026. In this isolated, stratified society, the only way to change one's standing in life is through duel battles streamed on KILLTUBE.

The battle entertainment story unfolds when an unlikely trio from the lowest depths of society withstand ridicule and aim for the top. As they win over the general public, they discover the hidden truth behind the KILLTUBE system.

The staff aims to use 3D CG to depict the look of shin-hanga (Showa period woodblock prints) in vivid colors and different textures. CHOCOLATE Inc. is working with up-and-coming VFX studio KASSEN and concept artist group WACHAJACK with a budget of 1 billion yen (about US$6.6 million).

Kazuaki Kuribayashi is directing and planning the film at STUDIO DOTOU. CHOCOLATE Inc. is in charge of planning and production.

The film's staff also includes:

• Script: Saeri Natsuo, Ryō Takemura, Takenori Tokuyama
• World View Setting: Yūsuke Ujita
• Technical Direction: Takumi Shiga (CAVIAR), Masato Gotō, Bivi, Frog96, Marusō
• Character Design/Technical Direction: Nike Shimaguchi
• Technical Direction/VFX Supervisor: Takahiro Ōta (KASSEN)
• Music Director: Matsuza Katakumi
• (Music) Composition: Takao Ogi
• Concept Art Director: Fujihiko Sawai (WACHAJACK)
• Concept Artist: Shūsei Sasaya
• Character Settings: ARuFa
• Graphic Designer: Masataka Yoshida
• Art Director: Takuya Sekikawa
• CG Lead Animator: Daisuke Kaneko (StudioNoco)
• CG Supervisor: Yūki Mizoguchi
• CG Animation Supervisor: Satoshi Takeno (MontBlanc Pictures)
• Background Modeling Supervisor: Jun Kazuse (Barehand)
• CG Effects Supervisor: Tai Komatsu
• Technical Artist: Hiroyuki Okada
• CG Producer: Nanao Nakatsuka

The film project is part of the "108 Experiments" initiative by CHOCOLATE Inc. to develop new ways to create works, present them, and earn revenue to nurture original stories. The company is also currently looking for creators and partners to work on KILLTUBE.

Sources: PR Times, Comic Natalie