Ichiro Itano

A young biker stumbles onto a prototype motorcycle with a hidden function that has a link to the true nature of his world.

EVANGELION is coming to an end. NHK spent 4 years with exclusive access to director Hideaki Anno, documenting the creative process behind the final EVANGELION: 3.0+1.0 THRICE UPON A TIME. For the first time, the camera is allowed inside Anno's studio. The documentary attempts to capture why master filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki (STUDIO GHIBLI) describes him as one who sheds blood for his films.

“Mobile Suit Gundam” series are still favored by various generations, passed its 35th anniversary. The animators who played the core roles in the memorable first series “Mobile Suit Gundam” are Yoshikazu Yasuhiko and Ichiro Itano: “We would like to leave the key animations as the film production to posterity to praise their achievements, which influenced not only on the audience but also on the current anime industry.”

The size of the Japanese animation market was 2,426 billion yen by 2020. More than half of that amount came from overseas sales. The manga market is also expanding, reaching 675.9 billion yen in 2021. Those unique visuals and stories from Japan have struck a chord with fans around the world and are growing into a huge industry. ANIME MANGA EXPLOSION will actively feature major works that are highly recognized by overseas fans and reveal the secrets of Japanese anime and manga creation through the series.