Anime Japan 2024 Day Two: Even More (Good) PVs You Missed

Well another day, another massive pile of of PVs and anime news to digest. What’s interesting with Anime Japan Day Two is that the distribution of trailers was almost entirely opposite of day one. Here, many of the trailers came much later into the event versus yesterday’s focus on earlier releasing. Either way, there’s a lot of trailers for some very big series, so let’s talk about them all!

Re:Zero Season 3

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Staff

Director: Shinohara Masahiro

Art Direction: Kinoshita Ryouka

Character Design: Sawaga Haruka

Color Design: Sakamoto Izumi

White Fox clearing house, instating new staff all the way from director to animation producer (though sparing color designer Sakamoto Izumi), and delivering an incredible trailer was not on my bingo card for Re:Zero season 3. Very bold decision, and very surprising considering that White Fox is carrying Sengoku Youko at the moment. Seems to have paid off in spades though as it fixes a great deal of the egregious issues that were apparent in the second season while finding ways to improve across the board. There’s a lot to take away from the trailer in the technical sense, and since I was so excited when it released, I went and made a whole post on the staff changeovers.

Mayonaka Punch

Mayonaka Punch centers on Masaki, a member of the NewTuber group “Harakiri Sisters”, who gets fired because of a certain incident. Aiming for a comeback, Masaki meets Live. The two girls have different goals, but together, they make a high-tension comeback and aim to reach 1 million subscribers on NewTube.
Anilist

Staff

Director: Honma Shuu

Character Design: Arima Ryouta

I knew I’d love Mayonaka Punch since I first laid eyes on it, and this PV has only served to solidify that interest and excitement. Ya Boy Kongming! director Honma Shuu returns to P.A. Works for their second project (a great fit if I’ve ever seen one) and Arima Ryouta arrives as a first time character designer and works some black magic to make these incredible character designs. Seriously, when I say that so much of the appeal of this PV comes from the character designs and Ryouta’s work with them, I really do mean it. Simple yet highly individual and unique, they’re incredible conduits for so much expression, style, and energy that they’re basically putty in Honma’s hands. Really can’t wait to see what P.A. Works manages with this original series.

Days With My Step Sister

After his father’s remarriage, Asamura Yuuta ends up getting a new stepsister, coincidentally the number one beauty of the school year, Ayase Saki. Having learned important values when it comes to man-woman relationships through the previous ones of their parents, they promise each other not to be too close, not to be too opposing, and to merely keep a vague and comfortable distance.
Anilist

Staff

Director: Ueno Takahiro

Character Design: Nii Manabu

First of all, Deen has been taking themselves to crazy levels as of late. Considering their status as a “bad” studio for a good while, it’s great to see them make this turnaround, and it shouldn’t be a surprise that it’s with the director of Sasaki and Miyano that they’re doing so. What is surprising though is seeing character designer Nii Manabu on Days With My Step Sister, as they’re largely a P.A. Works staff member. Regardless of affiliation though, Manabu has offered up some really great character designs for this series. My only complaint is that we don’t know the director of photography. I’m super curious as to who it might be as their work with this trailer looks very good.

The Elusive Samurai

Set in feudal Japan in between the Kamakura and Muromachi periods, our hero Hojo Takatoki is a boy on the run that history all but forgot! When the Kamakura shogunate is overthrown by Ashikaga Takauji, Takatoki’s family and standing are visciously taken away from him, and he must flee to the far reaches of the land to survive and seek out his revenge!
Anilist

Staff

Director: Yamazaki Yuta

Art Direction: Kojima Ayumi

Character Design: Nishiya Yasushi

Color Design: Nakashima Kazuko

If there’s one thing to say, it’s that Cloverworks has found a miracle worker in color designer Nakashima Kazuko. Their flatter yet rich and saturated colors have been a call sign of their work since Wonder Egg Priority (of which Yamazaki Yuta was the assitant director) with the studio, and they’ve put on display a wonderful effort here for The Elusive Samurai. It also helps a great deal that they have experience working alongside director of photography Sakuma Yuya, as the two display a great deal of synergy in this trailer. Cloverworks has really been firing on all cylinders with their works lately, and I’m massively appreciative of how much they’re letting individual style shine through on the various series out there. Oh, and also it’s Nishiya Yasushi’s second ever time with a lead character design credit, and they’re doing some great work. Lots of details and style imparted on these designs without making them a challenge to animate. It might not sound like that great a feat, but it really is tough to find a solid balance when adapting character designs.

Mecha-Ude Mechanical Arms

Long ago, alien lifeforms came to Earth, fusing with people on the planet. Due to their appearance, they were dubbed “Mecha-ude,” as when fused, they bore a striking resemblance to mechanized limbs. Through an involuntary partnership, average middle schooler Hikaru Amatsuga works alongside the Mecha-ude Arma, who is an extremely rare and special existence. To protect Arma, the resistance group ARMS assigns the dual Mecha-ude user Aki Murasame to follow him wherever he goes. However, she is also looking for a mysterious Snake-Type Mecha-ude wielder, who has put many of her comrades in a critical state.
Anilist

Staff

Director: Okamoto

Character Design: Nishii Terumi, Uchida Youko

This is… incredibly interesting. TriF studio has a weird past as a studio, to say the least. In 2018 they released a single episode ONA of Mecha-Ude as part of a kickstarter campaign for a Japanese anime, but since then have been relegated to producing various music videos- until today, of course. Series director Okomoto reprises their role from the original ONA, but they bring in veteran character designer Nishii Terumi of all people, and bring their partner from Rurouni Kenshin with them. It’s super surprising to see Terumi appear on such a new production, but even more surprising that the PV looks good- almost suspiciously good in, my opinion. We’ll see if the great work here translates to a great series or not, but I do have my reservations about where the average will sit.

Black Butler: Public School Arc

Continuation of the Kuroshitsuji anime adaptation.
Anilist

Staff

Director: Okada Kenjirou

Art Direction: Nemoto Kuniaki

Character Design: Shimizu Emi

Color Design: Yokota Asuka

Yes, I know that this is the 2nd PV for Black Butler, I just wanted to talk about the sheer oddity of this production. Cloverworks isn’t a studio that’s really “relied” on much of any CG before, but this PV shows off almost an excessive degree of 3D work in comparison to their previous series. It has me a little torn, as it does look really good, but the prevalence of it does make it stick out a bit more. Despite mixed opinions on the CGI however, the 2D work from the staff is as good as you’d expect from the staff list- though Shimizu Emi exists as an outlier, and is most certainly why we have four different chief animation directors credited for the season. I do think it’ll turn out well, but it’s such a very interesting mixed bag of staff.

Senpai is an Otokonoko

Can true love really overcome any obstacles? Saki, a high school student, confesses her feelings to Makoto. Taken aback, Makoto reveals his secret, but the sudden discovery doesn’t seem to bother Saki who is already head over heels for him. After being rejected, Saki asks Ryuji, Makoto’s childhood friend, for some advice on how to win his heart. A love triangle unfolds when Ryuji realizes that he might also have some feelings for his old friend.
Anilist

Staff

Director: Yanagi Shinsuke

Character Design: Shinkai Shouto

Project No. 9 as a studio has always had it in them, but they’ve always had such boneheadedly scheduled works. In fact, in Fall of last year they had 3 series airing at once. Thankfully, they’ve figured it out and have very little for 2024 so far, and Senpai is an Otokonoko is reaping the benefits of that under No. 9 veteran Yanagi Shunsuke. The more surprising piece, which seems to be quite the trend as of late, is brand new character designer Shinkai Shouto. And when I say new, I mean new. This is only their sixth ever series they’ve worked on, and is their first time doing character design- and it looks really great. They’re simple designs that stick close to the source material while fitting very nicely with the change in medium.

The Irregular at Magic High School Season 3

After the battle against The New Breed Front, Tatsuya and Miyuki enter the new “Magic Engineering Department.”
Anilist

Staff

Director: Jimmy Stone

Art Direction: Nagayoshi Kouki

Character Design: Ishida Kana

Color Design: Komatsu Sakura

For an anime franchise that’s been going on for a decade now, 8Bit sure has made some interesting choices. Jimmy Stone has been an assistant director on other Irregular at Magic High School projects as well as sub character design and CAD Design, Nagayoshi Kouki is a Troyca staff member that was most recently on Kaminaki (of all things), Hirooka Gaku is an 8Bit and Nexus go-between that first showed up on The Honor Student at Magic High School, and Komatsu Sakura is a GoHands transfer that started into the Irregular at Magic High School series with the Visitor Arc. It’s a very interesting mix of staff that have little relation to one another, but barring Nagayoshi have all had experience with the series at some point. And I’d say that experience is very helpful in keeping with expectations for the series, but their status as newer members has allowed them to impart a great deal of modern style and appeal to the work that has me interested in their vision.

Monogatari Series: Off & Monster Season

The sequel to the ‘Final Season’ story arc of the Monogatari series.
Anilist

Staff

Director: Yoshizawa Midori

Art Direction: Iijima Hisaharu

Character Design: Watanabe Akio

Color Design: Watanabe Yasuko

There’s one big change here, and it’s one that I’m incredibly excited to see- the series director debut of Yoshizawa Midori. They’ve been tied to the Magia Record franchise for some time as an assistant director, and have been around the Monogatari series since Tsukimonogatari. Shaft has strong history and chemistry as a studio, and having been under Akiyuki Shinbo’s wing for some time they’ve finally been given the chance to flee their cage and spread their own wings. And it’s not hard to see what they bring to such a long standing series with this latest season. It exudes Shaft’s styling, bringing intense and creative visuals full of drama and emotion, perfectly tailored to the subjects of this season. I really cannot wait to see how Yoshizawa’s vision turns out.

And with a total of nine different PVs, Anime Japan Day Two has come to an end. Comparing the day to day of Anime Japan is interesting, because as I mentioned earlier the timing of PVs has differed a good deal, but after chatting about all of them, it’s clear to see that Anime Japan Day Two held all of the heavy hitters. Re:Zero, The Irregular at Magic High School, Monogatari, and even others such as My Hero Academia appeared last night into this morning. Alongside that we’ve also gotten a healthy amount of continuation announcements for series like Kamonohashi Ron’s Forbidden Deductions. It really seems to be the case of “saving the best for last”, and I can’t quite complain about getting so many great PVs in such a short period of time. Though, as a consequence we’ll now see a drought in terms of announcements, but after all of these different trailers I certainly don’t have any complaints.