adapts own novel about boy's search for sister who is lost in net space

The anime studio ZEXCS began streaming a promotional video for its Aruvu Rezuru - Kikai Jikake no Yōsei-tachi (Aruvu Rezuru - Mechanized Fairies) anime on the official Anime Mirai channel on niconico (formerly Nico Nico Douga) on Thursday.

(To turn off the scrolling comments, select the word balloon icon on the bottom right corner of the video.)

The story takes place in 2022 when humanity is accelerating towards the technological singularity — the advent of computers that surpass humans. Nano-technology has advanced to the point where humans can seamlessly link to networks, but the consciousness of tens of thousands vanished in a tragedy that became known as the "Early Rapture." Remu Mikage (played by Jun Fukuyama) goes to take back the soul of Shiki (Eri Kitamura), his little sister who disappeared in net space.

Yū Yamaguchi's Aruvu Rezuru is the first novel under Kodansha's BOX-AiR program to be animated. Tatsuya Yoshihara (episode director on Sket Dance) will make his full-fledged directing debut on this anime, while Yamaguchi is writing the script. Kei Tsuchiya (animation director on The Book of Bantorra, The Qwaser of Stigmata) is designing the characters and overseeing the animation process. Yasunari Nitta (character designer on Maburaho, Sister Princess) and Miyako Yatsu (character designer on Chu-Bra!!, Idaten Jump) are mentoring a group of young key animators on the project.

Under the Anime Mirai program, the Japan Animation Creators Association (JAniCA) receives money from the Japanese government's Agency for Cultural Affairs, and it distributes most of those funds to studios who will train young animators on-the-job.