The Association of Japanese Animations (AJA) announced the studios and anime shorts chosen for the coming year's "Anime Tamago" (formerly "Anime Mirai") project on Friday. As in previous years, the anime shorts will train young animators on-the-job part of the Japanese government's Agency of Cultural Affairs' "Young Animator Training Project."

Studio Comet

Title: "Charanpo-shima no Monogatari" (The Story of Charanpo Island, tentative)

Director: Shin Misawa

Producer: Shunichi Ozao



Studio 4°C

Title: "Red Ash -Magicicada-" (tentative)

Director: Yuta Sano

Producer: Yuka Hisae



Nippon Animation

Title: "Genba no Jōkitsune" (tentative)

Director: Takumi Dōyama

Producer: Yū Furukubo



WAO Corporation, Studio Live, SSS-Studio collaboration

Title "Zunda Horizon" (tentative)

Director: Hiroshi Takeuchi

Producer: Kiyomitsu Aoki, Sakiko Okutsu



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)

All the titles for the shorts are subject to change until they submit and reveal their respective visuals.

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 last year.

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. The collaborative short will focus on the Tohoku Zunko mascot character.

As before, all the shorts will be shown in March of next year (2017).

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 in March.

Bandai Channel will stream the Anime Tamago 2016 shorts again from June 4-12.

Update: While the animators are working on the projects this year, the finished works will debut next year.