With a cast of African-American characters, XOGenaSYS is defying conventions of Japanese anime. Set in a dangerous, dystopian future, it follows Darius - a young man who is forced to exchange his art for the arena of the titular violent sport he excels at. XOGenaSYS is based off a manga series by Noir Caesar, a creative agency founded by NBA player Johnny O’Bryant, alongside Nikolas A. D’Art Shtajio’s first short created in the software, The Doll, received rave reviews earlier this year*. The Tokyo-based studio is launching the pilot for XOGenaSYS, its second anime produced in Toon Boom Harmony, this weekend at Anime Expo 2018 to much fanfare and doubtlessly positive attention from distributors, investors and buyers. The software, already the international industry standard, allows for natural hand-drawing and has been adapted to emulate the unique Japanese pipeline and system.Īmong those making the switch is D’Art Shtajio.

In order to create high-quality anime at the quantity global audiences want with the efficiency studios need, more Nippon producers are transitioning from traditional pencil-and-paper animation to “tradigital” solutions like Toon Boom Harmony. With demand for anime surging, Japanese studios are operating at full capacity and many are booked through 2020 according to The Hollywood Reporter. The medium represented 77 percent of Japan’s television exports in 2016, bringing in $358 million (￥39.35 billion) in revenue - a whopping 36 percent rise over the year prior.

Netflix alone ordered 30 original anime projects for 2018. Thanks to the international success of films like Your Name (produced in Toon Boom Storyboard Pro ) and demand for original content from streaming services like Amazon Prime and Netflix, the industry had a record-breaking year in 2016, generating over $17.7 billion (￥2.01 trillion) in revenue.

In less than a generation, anime has evolved from a niche Japanese animation style to the country’s main cultural export - creating massive economic boons from television series to tourist attractions like the planned Studio Ghibli theme park.

Anime studio toon boom