by Kinema Citrus, the animation planning and production company behind anime series such as “My Happy Marriage” and “Made in Abyss,” announced the production of two completely original animations, “Goodbye Lala” and “Ninja Skooler,” at the event “ACEN (Anime Central)” held in Chicago, USA on the 19th local time.
Kinema Citrus was founded in 2008 with the philosophy of “producing films that will last 100 years and contain values that will not change even as times change.” To date, the company has worked on numerous anime, including “My Happy Marriage,” “Made in Abyss,” “Shoujo☆Kageki Revue Starlight,” “The Rising of the Shield Hero,” and “Cardfight!! Vanguard overDress,” “SHOW BY ROCK!! STARS!!,” “Yuyushiki,” “Barakamon,” and “Tokyo Magnitude 8.0.” Sixteen years after its founding, the company is taking a new step by producing two completely original animations.
“Goodbye Lala” is an original story (original work: Kinema Citrus) in which “The Little Mermaid” is revived in modern-day Japan. This is the directorial debut of Takashi Koide, an animator and director affiliated with the company. Director Koide is enthusiastic, saying, “‘Goodbye Lala’ is a handmade anime. It is a new original anime from Kinema Citrus. Is it barbaric? Is it delicate? Is it nostalgic? Is it fresh? I will move my hands without knowing.
I will put my heart into making it with the excellent staff!” Character design will be handled by Shiori Tani, who has experience as a prop designer for “Shoujo☆Kageki Revue Starlight,” animation director for “Made in Abyss: Golden Land of the Fiery Sun,” and character designer for “Star Wars: Visions: Village of the Bride.”
The other film, “Ninja Skooler,” is a story about ninjas living in a “what if” Edo (planned and written by Kinema Citrus/breccia). It is the directorial debut of Takarai Shunsuke, who is active as an animator and filmmaker, having directed “Made in Abyss: Golden Village of the Fiery Sun,” produced eyecatches for Mob Psycho 100 seasons 2-3 as part of the video production unit ” Kenja, ” and directed and edited the music video for “non-reflection” (Aiobahn feat. Yui Makino).
Director Takarai commented, “I’m very honored to be directing for the first time and doing an original work…! I’ll do my best to portray a world where the main characters’ children are just like us, but have a slightly different “ordinary” about them.”
Hami will handle character design. She debuted as a manga artist in 2011 and has worked on the comic adaptation of the “Sound! Euphonium” series (by Ayano Takeda).
In conjunction with the production announcement, teaser visuals for the two films, the pilot film for “Sayonara Lala,” and a promotional video for “Ninja Skooler” were released.
