NETFLIX CELEBRATES JAPANESE CONTENT SLATE AT ANIME EXPO 2023

Returning to Anime Expo, North America’s largest fan event for all things Japanese pop culture, Netflix showcased their diverse slate of upcoming anime and live action adaptations, including fan favorites like PLUTO or BEASTARS FINAL SEASON, as well as news and talent appearances for the highly anticipated stop motion series Pokémon Concierge, as well as live action adaptations Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead and ONE PIECE.

The panel featured the newly announced Pokémon Concierge (December, 2023) series star Non, who will voice the lead character Haru in the Japanese version, and delighted fans with a behind-the-scenes look at the upcoming series and newly presented teaser art. Haru’s adventures at the Pokémon Resort will be added to an ever-expanding list of J-Content. This includes previously announced titles such as BEASTARS FINAL SEASON (Coming Soon), whose main character Legoshi surprised fans onstage by revealing some of the character designs for the upcoming and final season.

Netflix also provided fans and the press with a new look at the upcoming project PLUTO (October 26, 2023), an anime adaptation of Naoki Urasawa’s legendary manga of the same name. Coming all the way from Tokyo, anime legend Masao Maruyama delighted fans with insights into his decade-long career in the industry and what makes the upcoming PLUTO project so unique, before unveiling a brand-new teaser trailer for the series.

Fans also heard from the cast of the upcoming zombie comedy Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead (August 3, 2023), with co-creator of the original manga Kotaro Takata and lead-actor Eiji Akaso presenting the first teaser trailer and joking about 100 things they’d do before the zombie apocalypse took over.

Before concluding the panel, fans were treated to a special video message from the cast of the highly anticipated ONE PIECE live action series (August 31, 2023), in which series lead Iaki Godoy took viewers to a special meeting with legendary voice actor Mayumi Tanaka, revealing that the original voice cast of the long-running anime series will reprise their roles for the Japanese dub of the upcoming series.

See below for additional highlights and announcements:

ZOM 100: BUCKET LIST OF THE DEAD – August 3, 2023

Akira Tendo (Eiji Akaso) works at an abusive company where he suffers endless late hours, power harassment from his boss, and illogical tasks. He spends his days feeling more dead than alive. One morning, the town is overtaken by zombies and the familiar landscape is already devastated. Seeing such destruction, Akira shouts with glee that he doesn’t need to go to the office anymore. Showing his innate positivity, Akira comes up with a list of 100 things he wants to do before he becomes a zombie, including cleaning his home and camping on his balcony and sets out to complete his bucket list.

• Director: Yusuke Ishida
• Screenplay: Tatsuro Mishima
• Original Music: Yoshiaki Dewa 　
• Music Producer: Kohei Chida
• Director of Photography: Taro Kawazu　
• Production Design: Ryota Eguchi
• Action Director: Yuji Shimomura
• Sound Recordist: Masaharu Tanabe
• Sound Design: Hiro Ishizaka
• Editor: Eri Usukine
• VFX Supervisor: Jeffrey Dillinger
• VFX Producer: Ryo Takatama, Tomofumi Akahane
• Stylist: Haruki Kouketsu
• Hair and Make-up Direction: Rie Suda
• Special Makeup Director: Soichi Umezawa
• Executive Producer: Shinichi Takahashi
• Producer: Akira Morii
• In Association with: Plus One Entertainment
• Production Company: ROBOT
• Cast: Eiji Akaso, Mai Shiraishi, Shuntaro Yanagi, Kazuki Kitamura

ONE PIECE – Premiere date: August 31, 2023

Based on Japan’s highest-selling manga series in history by Eiichiro Oda, ONE PIECE is a legendary high-seas adventure unlike any other. Monkey D. Luffy is a young adventurer who has longed for a life of freedom since he can remember. Luffy sets off from his small village on a perilous journey to find the legendary fabled treasure, ONE PIECE, to become King of the Pirates! But in order to find the ultimate prize, Luffy will need to assemble the crew he’s always wanted before finding a ship to sail, searching every inch of the vast blue seas, outpacing the Marines, and outwitting dangerous rivals at every turn.

• Co-Production: Netflix and Tomorrow Studios (an ITV Studios partnership). 
• Netflix will handle physical production.
• Writers / Co-Showrunners / Executive Producers: Matt Owens, Steven Maeda
• Executive Producers: Marty Adelstein and Becky Clements of Tomorrow Studios
• Executive Producer: Eiichiro Oda

PLUTO – Premiere date: October 26, 2023

Europol detective robot Gesicht races to solve a string of murders targeting advanced robots and key figures in robot law, uncovering the greatest evil in history. Praised by many as a masterpiece, the manga PLUTO is based on Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy ‘The Greatest Robot on Earth’ arc from 1964 and created by Naoki Urasawa (20th Century Boys, Yawara!, Master Keaton) and his long-time co creator Takashi Nagasaki. The suspense drama takes place in a neo-futuristic world where humans and high-functioning robots live in complete harmony. The globally acclaimed manga has won numerous awards, including the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize.

• Based on PLUTO by Naoki Urasawa & Osamu Tezuka
• Producer: Takashi Nagasaki
• Creative Supervisor: Macoto Tezka
• Supported by Tezuka Productions and ‘BIG COMIC’ Published by Shogakukan
• Executive Producers: Masao Maruyama, Taro Maki, Yuji Yamamoto
• Director: Toshio Kawaguchi
• Character Designer / Supervising Animation Director: Shigeru Fujita
• Creative Advisor: Naoki Urasawa
• Supervising Animators: Kazunori Aoki, Kaku Saito
• CGI Director / Special Effects Compositor: Takahiro Miyata
• Art Director: Chikako Shibata
• Compositing Director: Mitsuhiro Sato
• Audio Director: Masafumi Mima
• Music:Yugo Kanno
• Animation Production: Studio M2
• Produced by GENCO

POKÉMON CONCIERGE – December, 2023

POKÉMON CONCIERGE KEY ART

Pokémon Concierge’ is the first collaborative production between Netflix and The Pokémon Company and an ambitious stop-motion project produced by critically acclaimed dwarf studios. Expanding the Pokémon world, the story follows Haru, a concierge at the ‘Pokémon Resort,’ and her interactions with Pokémon and their owners who visit as guests.

• Director: Iku Ogawa
• Screenplay by: Harumi Doki
• Concept Arts / Character Design: Tadahiro Uesugi
• Production: dwarf studios
• Voice Cast: Non (Haru)

BEASTARS FINAL SEASON – Premiere date: Coming Soon

BEASTARS FINAL SEASON KEY ART

A new chapter of the animal human drama BEASTARS begins! After that final battle, where did the gray wolf Legoshi go? BEASTARS is an animal human drama set in a world where bipedal carnivores and herbivores live together. In this unique world, the gray wolf Legoshi and his classmates attend the Cherryton Academy, where all students stay in dormitories. This is the story of love and friendship that goes beyond species. However, at times, their unrestrainable instincts as carnivores and herbivores lead to tragic events. This new chapter tells the story after Seasons 1 and 2.

• Based on the manga by: Paru Itagaki
• Animation Production: Orange
• Voice Cast: Chikahiro Kobayashi (Legoshi)