Kickstarter for indie sci-fi project ends Sunday

Hideo Kojima ( Metal Gear Solid franchise) endorsed Creative Intelligent Arts' proposed science fiction anime Under the Dog in a press release on Tuesday.

Kojima stated that the creative freedom of projects funded by their audience is "the new future of 'creating'" and that, by using the financing structure of Kickstarter, "the creator is not bound by the former traditional investor or clientele."

Kojima also called Jirō Ishii "a writer with remarkable talent" and stated that the project will test the success of video game writers venturing into other media.

The Kickstarter for Under the Dog will end Sunday with a goal of US$580,000. As of press time, US$390,751 has been pledged toward the anime.

The project aims to carry the tradition of older sci-fi anime titles such as Akira and Ghost in the Shell, and the material was written between 1994 and 1995. The production team is using Kickstarter in order to avoid the process of funding from production committees and therefore retain creative control of the anime. If the Kickstarter is successful, the team hopes to expand with more projects in the Under the Dog universe. Stretch goals include up to two prequels, a Los Angeles premiere, and if US$5.1 million is pledged, the project will shift to a feature-length film.

Masahiro Ando (Hanasaku Iroha, Blast of Tempest) will direct the series based on a story by Jirō Ishii (428: In a Blockaded Shibuya, producer on Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors). Yuusuke Kozaki (Fire Emblem: Awakening) is designing the characters, Kinema Citrus is in charge of animation, and Orange Co. (Ghost in the Shell Arise) is in charge of 3D CGI. Creative Intelligence Arts founder Hiroaki Yura is producing. Keiichi Momose (Steamboy, Stand by Me Doraemon) is serving as Audio director, Kevin Penkin is composing the original score, and John Kurlander is serving as the mixing and recording engineer.

Creative Intelligence Arts describes the story:

Under the Dog takes place in 2025 in Neo Tokyo, five years after a devastating terrorist attack at the Tokyo Olympics. In the wake of the tragedy, the U.N. formed a covert ops unit dedicating to seeking out, then eliminating those responsible for the attack. Anthea Kallenberg, a girl of Swedish descent is a member of this elite group who has honed her combat abilities and has become a deadly assassin, but must come to terms as to who she really is.

If funded, the finished product will be in Japanese with English subtitles, and also include the original soundtrack and behind-the-scenes diaries and interviews. The Kickstarter announced last week that backers who pledge $20 or more will have digital access to this and any future Under the Dog episodes.