The official website of the "Anime Tamago" (formerly "Anime Mirai") project revealed the cast of the four anime shorts this year over the past two days. As in previous years, the anime shorts will train young animators on-the-job as part of the Japanese government's Agency of Cultural Affairs' "Young Animator Training Project."

The cast for "Charanpo Land no Bōken" (The Charanpo Land Adventure) includes:

Chika Sakamoto as Kometora



Hitomi Ohwada as Pyon



Fukushi Ochiai as Gunma



Ikuji Nose as Professor Akan



Taketora as Poncho



Sayaka Ohara as the Spirit of the Baobab Tree





Studio Comet

Title: "Charanpo Land no Bōken" (The Charanpo Land Adventure)

Synopsis: At the far end of the Southern Seas, where none had dared to go, there exists an island called Charanpo Land. At the center of that island is a giant baobab tree, which produces many eggs each day. Inside the eggs are food, clothing, and other daily necessities. The inhabitants of the island live carefree lives, dependent upon the eggs.

But lately, more and more of the eggs have been turning up empty, which makes the inhabitants uneasy. Then one day, with a thunderous crash, and an explosion of rainbow-colored light, the baobab tree produces an egg of curious appearance. The next morning, the village chief Poncho tells the inhabitants that they must find that egg. Now the tiger Kometora and a group of children must find the egg within the forest.

Director: Shin Misawa

Producer: Shunichi Ozao

Animation Director: Tatsuo Honda

Character Design: Narumi Shimoji



Image credit: © studio COMET / Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan AnimeTamago2017



The cast for "Red Ash -Magicicada-" includes:

Fumiko Uchimura as Call



Yuuki Kaji as Beck



Rikumi Moriwaki as Tyger



Masanori Takeda as Stripe



Yohei Hamada as Deny



Norito Abe as Safari





Studio 4°C

Title: "Red Ash -Magicicada-"

Synopsis: In a futuristic world, the "Nanorace," people whose genes contain nanomachines that grant them special abilities, are controlled and suffer prejudice from the "Purerace" of normal human beings. Beck, a legendary hunter with the power of "Red Ash," aims to undergo the surgical procedure to become Purerace. Alongside the large yet timid mechanic Tyger, they use their parallel machine to fly to the old world, doing dangerous jobs.

One day, they suddenly run into Call, a girl pursued by the duo of Safari and Stripe. Call, Beck, and Tyger together travel to the clockwork world. But Safari, Stripe, and their leader Deny, stubbornly pursue Call, and are finally in a position to make their attack on Beck and his friends.

Director: Yuta Sano

Producer: Yuka Hisae

Animation Director: Yasuyuki Shimizu

3D Animation Director/Character Designer: Chiaki Imanaka

Image credit: © Beyond C. / Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan AnimeTamago2017



The cast for "Genbanojō" includes:

Katsuyuki Konishi as Genbanojō



Rina Satou as O-Natsu



Natsuki Hanae as Shinzaemon



Runa Tamano as Hana



Reiko Suzuki as Chiyo





Nippon Animation

Title: "Genbanojō"

Synopsis: In a cone-shaped land named Kikyōgahara in Shin Province, there lives a girl named Hana. She is a gentle girl, who always thinks of her family, in particular her great-grandmother Chiyo, whom she affectionately calls "Granny." One day, a traveling entertainment troupe named the Natsugawa Genzaemon Troupe happens by, and the villagers welcome them warmly. Upon finishing their performance and receiving their acclaim, the troupe's leader spots Hana with some "oyaki," his favorite food, and transforms into a fox in his excitement.

It turns out that the leader Genbanojō, and his companions O-Natsu and Shinzaemon, are all foxes who have taken on human forms. Genbanojō hastily negotiates with Hana, telling her that in exchange for keeping their secret, he will grant her one wish. She answers, "I want to let my Granny see the cherry blossoms."

Director: Takumi Dōyama

Producer: Yū Furukubo

Animation Director: Hirofumi Nakata

Character Designer: Shin Takemoto

Image credit: © NIPPON ANIMATION CO., LTD. / Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan AnimeTamago2017



The cast for "Zunda Horizon" includes:

Satomi Satou as Zunko Tohoku



Himika Akaneya as Kiritan Tohoku



Ibuki Kido as Itako Tohoku



Rika Momokawa as Usagi Chūgoku



Koyuki Tanaka as Metan Shikoku



Nozomi Nishida as Sora Kyushu



Maria Sashide as Chanko Ōedo



Ayano Hamaguchi as Tsurugi Chubu



Ayaka Imamura as Shinobi Kansai



Aoi Koga as Awamo Okinawa



Ayaka Shimizu as Meron Hokkaido



The Third Power "The Mysterious Black Being" (no voice cast revealed yet)



Yuina Ito as Zundamon





WAO Corporation, Studio Live, SSS-Studio collaboration

Title: "Zunda Horizon"

Synopsis: Zunko Tohoku can make any mochi into delicious zunda mochi by shooting it with her Zunda Arrow. Along with Kiritan Tohoku, Itako Tohoku, Usagi Chūgoku, Metan Shikoku, and Sora Kyushu, she enjoys eating zunda mochi while being full of happiness.

Chanko Ōedo conversely leads the Natto Factory along with her companions Tsurugi Chubu, Shinobi Kansai, Awamo Okinawa, and Meron Hokkaido. Even though zunda and natto use the same type of bean, the edamame used in zunda and the soy beans used in natto are harvested at different times, with edamame being harvested first. As a result, the members of the Natto Factory are afraid of a decrease in the quantity of soybeans harvested. Chanko sends Awamo Okinawa and Meron Hokkaido to Zunko's house to assassinate her, but a third power makes their appearance.

Director: Hiroshi Takeuchi

Producer: Kiyomitsu Aoki, Sakiko Okutsu

Original Character Design: Ninico Edomura

Animation Director/Character Designer: Risa Suzuki

Image credit: © SSS・STL・WAO / Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan AnimeTamago2017



This year's selection committee consists of:

Keisuke Iwata (AT-X President)

Mitsuko Okamoto (Tokyo University of the Arts, Dean of Graduate School of Film and New Media)

Gisaburō Sugii (Anime director)

Michihiko Suwa (Yomiuri TV Anime Department Executive Producer)

Ryousuke Takahashi (Anime director)

Toshiya Matsushita (Tokuma Shoten, Animage Editor-in-Chief)

Hiro Maruyama (MBS, Tokyo Branch, Assistant Manager)

Masahiko Minami (Studio Bones President)

Studio 4°C's "Red Ash -Magicicada-" short is the only 3D CG short in the selection. The game company Comcept held a successful Kickstarter fundraising campaign for this project as a tie-in to its Red Ash: The Indelible Legend game in 2015.

"Zunda Horizon" is based on an original character created by SSS-Studio named Zunko Tohoku, to support the victims in the Tohoku region of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. Ninico Edomura created the character, but she is copyright free, so anyone can use the character for free without needing permission from SSS to do so. Zunko Tohoku was part of a successful crowdfunding campaign in 2013 to create Vocaloid software for the character. SSS launched a successful Kickstarter campaign for the character in 2015 to create a manga and illustration book.

Apart from Studio 4°C, all participant studios are new to the Anime Tamago project. The short between WAO Corporation, Studio Live, and SSS-Studio is also the first time the project has accepted a collaborative production.

As before, all the shorts will be shown in March.

The Japanese government's Agency of Cultural Affairs launched its "Young Animator Training Project" in 2010 with the aim of fostering the growth of domestic animation studios, and tackling the concern that more of the Japanese animation process is being outsourced overseas. The project has spawned such works as Little Witch Academia and Death Billiards (which inspired the Death Parade television anime). The Anime Tamago 2016 shorts were all shown through various Japanese television channels and cinema screenings, as well as through streaming on the Bandai Channel site last March.

Five previous Anime Tamago and Anime Mirai works shipped on DVD in September. Sales benefited the relief effort from last year's earthquake in Kumamoto.