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Frontier Works, KaKa Creation's Twins Hinahima AI Anime Reveals March 29 TV Debut
posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
KaKa Creation and Frontier Works revealed on Friday that their Twins Hinahima anime project, which is made using AI, will air on TV in Japan on MBS starting on March 29 at 27:38 (effectively 3:38 a.m. on March 30). The anime will also stream on more than 20 streaming services in Japan.
The companies also revealed a main promotional video for the anime.
The website has also revealed the anime's staff.
Kō Nakano (name romanization not confirmed) is directing the anime at KaKa Technology Studio, and Yū Shinada is writing the scripts. Takumi Yokota (Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club) is the character designer, and "Ultra-Noob" is the AI / 3D technical director. "852-wa" and Asaki are credited for "AI pipeline development." Kujira Yumemi (Kubo Won't Let Me Be Invisible, In the Land of Leadale) is composing the music.
Other staff members include:
- Main Animator: Yōsuke Kudō
- 3D Animation Director: Shū Kawamura (name romanization not confirmed)
- 3D Modeling: Sakamoto Shōkai
- Director of Photography: Tadayoshi Ozawa (name romanization not confirmed)
- Assistant Sound Director: Koichi Kikuchi
- Sound: Noix
- Producer: Naomichi Iizuka
The anime will star Sae Hiratsuka as Himari and Yurie Igoma as Hinana. Mayu Sagara will also voice a role in the anime.
Hiratsuka and Igoma will perform the opening theme song "Augment Day!," and CHiCO will perform the ending theme song "6:00 PM."
The anime is based on the anime TikToker of the same name. The anime centers on twin girls Himari and Hinana who are in their first year of high school in Tokyo. Their goal is to go viral and they post dance videos and other videos on TikTok. In the process, they notice something strange happening.
A previous video outlined the various ways AI was used in the creation of the project, and the anime's website discusses the concept of "supportive AI." The website stated as AI technology is becoming more prevalent, there is a large gap between creators and AI. In response to this, the project is working to approach AI in a way where AI is used as a support tool for creators. The staff stated they believe AI for creators can be used to make work more efficient as labor shortages and excessive work hours in the anime industry continue, and also can achieve new forms of expression currently difficult for hand-drawn animation and CG.
More than 95% of the cuts in the anime will use AI, and a person will make the final edits by hand. The anime also uses other tools such as CLIP STUDIO PAINT, and Adobe software such as Photoshop, After Effects, and Illustrator.
For example, in the above key visual, a staff member drew the characters in CLIP STUDIO PAINT. For the background, a photograph was converted to an anime background using AI, then retouched by art staff. The logo was hand-drawn using Adobe Illustrator, and the special effects used Adobe Photoshop and Adobe After Effects.
Other recent AI anime projects include generAIdoscope, a full-length original omnibus movie project completely made with generative AI. The film was originally slated to screen in Japanese theaters last year, with Hirotaka Adachi (who uses the pen name Otsuichi as a novelist), One Cut of the Dead cinematographer Takeshi Sone, and Hiroki Yamaguchi (Bloody Chainsaw Girl) directing the three original stories.
The animated film adaptation of Rika Hirotsu's Shi ga Utsukushii Nante Dare ga Itta (Who Said Death Was Beautiful?) book by motion capture studio Eins, was made through a combination of motion capture technology and generative AI. The film premiered in Japan in December 2023.
Sources: Twins Hinahima anime's website, Comic Natalie
