New Anime in Development by Producers at Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions & J.C.Staff

The first Kochi Anime Creator Award 2026 Online Seminar revealed that Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions (ShoPro) producer Yuuka Numakoshi and J.C.Staff producer Yuji Matsukura are currently planning a new anime.

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The seminar, themed “[Must-See for Aspiring Animators!] Planning Techniques for Turning Your Ideas Into Anime,” featured Matsukura, Numakoshi, and fellow ShoPro producer Junichi Katsutani. Katsutani, who produced Zo Zo Zombie in 2020 alongside Matsukura (animation production by J.C.Staff), was also revealed to be working on titles scheduled for release in 2026 and 2027, with further titles in development. It’s unclear whether one of the 2026 titles includes Ao Ashi; Katsutani was a producer on the first season. You can check out the latest on Ao Ashi Season 2 here, including the studio change to TMS Entertainment.

The trio discussed how to facilitate anime production, including striking a balance between the directors’ creative urges and the perspectives of other stakeholders. Matsukura said, “If the director is the one stepping on the accelerator, then stepping on the brakes or pointing the way forward—well, I think that’s one of the producer’s jobs,” adding that directors who single-mindedly step on the accelerator made the job tough.

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For advice, he emphasized the importance of producers understanding animators’ styles and maintaining regular contact with studios. For creatives, he advised diversifying their skill sets and interests, for example, watching kabuki or even wrestling to gain new perspectives, or 2D animators learning some 3D skills and vice versa. When asked about commonalities in successful projects, Matsukura said there’s no certainty in whether something will be a hit. Even still, they must have a reason to believe that something will be a success.

Among Matsukura’s biggest influences is Tom and Jerry, and on a personal level, he said he would love to reunite with Fumihiko Takayama, whose credits include directing Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket, Super Dimension Fortress Macross (episode direction in 10 episodes—also did storyboards for some episodes), and series composition in Sword of the Stranger. Takayama wrote the series composition for Yomigaeru Sora – Rescue Wings, for which Matsukura worked as a producer in his 20s.

Numakoshi emphasized the importance of confiding in others to get an objective perspective and highlighted Revolutionary Girl Utena as a major influence, promising that it wasn’t just because Matsukura produced the series. (Matsukura laughed and thanked her.) Numakoshi recounted being introduced to the series by a friend at university. Despite the series’ elements being unfamiliar to her at the time, she said she found it amazing and spoke about it incessantly with her friends.

Katsutani says that the childhood anime that remain in his heart include Pokémon and the Doraemon movies. (He says that this isn’t just because he works as ShoPro, which co-produced both.) He adds that it’s becoming harder to create children’s anime.

The Kochi Anime Creator Award aims to discover and nurture new talent among creators from Kochi, specializing in short anime from 90 seconds to 15 minutes long. The total prize pot is 30 million yen, and the submission period is between August 1, 2025, and February 16, 2026.

Source: Kochi Anime Creator Award Online Seminar (form to view)