After graduating from Pratt Institute, Thurlow spent a few years working in New York City's unstable animation scene on web games, kids shows, music videos, and Adult Swim's Superjail. But he found it mostly unfulfilling.

"With the exception of Superjail, I felt like I was wasting my talents/life on crap instead of 'true art.' Where are the 2D feature films? Particularly high-quality boundary-pushing TV shows? Where is any 2D animation being produced in America that takes the art form to its limits? Nowhere."

So he decided to pursue his lifelong dream: He headed to Japan to make anime.