News
Anipipo Crowdfunding Site Launches Beta with Santa Company
posted on by Lynzee Loveridge
The beta for the animation crowdfunding service Anipipo launched on Thursday and introduced several of its launch projects. Projects include Kenji Itoso's original anime film Santa Company, Anigo Animation's "ABC of Akari" short, and Moo's SWEETS&WORLD and PONPON PIPOPO picture books.
Kenji Itoso, the unit director on the late Satoshi Kon's dormant Yume-Miru Kikai film, first revealed the plans for Santa Company last year. He aims to release it this winter.
A picture book published last year revealed the anime's story: Noel is an 11-year-old girl who despises Christmas. She has lived with her father ever since her parents divorced three years ago, but her father ends up busy at work every Christmas and she cannot play with her friends from school.
On a lonely Christmas Eve, Noel takes her usual apartment complex elevator ride to her home, but when the doors open, she finds herself lost in a humongous factory — owned by Santa Claus. Santa Claus has gone corporate as Santa Company with the motto "Swiftly, surely, secretly." The outfit takes orders and delivers top-notch presents to children in the utmost secrecy. Noel meets some new friends, and together, they take off in a sled to deliver presents.
Naohiro Fukushima (Eden of the East, Eureka 7: Astral Ocean) is writing the script, and artist Hidari (Fractale, Natsu-iro Kiseki) drew the original character design illustrations. Itoso's own KENJI STUDIO (Kotonakare Hero Gingerman) is animating the film.
The project is looking to raise 1,000,000 yen (about US$10,000) in 60 days.
The ten-minute short "ABC of Akari" is being produced by Spanish studio Anigo Animation, the brainchild of Vicente Carro. The short is a product of his own 3D animation program. The story follows Akari, a young woman with no reason to live but her desire for revenge. The short will be produced in English.
The project is looking to raise a minimum of 3,660,000 yen (US$36,000) in 60 days.
Moo is a Japanese freelance creative designer and illustrator living in Saitama. The Picture Books Production Project by Moo includes the book SWEETS&WORLD, which follows a bear named Pipopo who travels around the world looking for sweets. Moo aims for the "kawaii" picture books to become a series.
The project is looking to raise 250,000 yen (US$2,457) in 60 days.
The Japanese/Thai IT service development company Goopa launched a preview of its crowdfunding service Anipipo in October.
The service, which is available in English and Japanese, exclusively funds animated projects through individual contributors. The site is led by Hiroaki Taira, Vincent Sethiwan, Sam Tiyavutiroj and directed by Kentaro Sakakibara of the Japanese investment firm Samurai Incubate.
Crowdfunding services such as Kickstarter funded Production I.G and Masaaki Yuasa's anime short Kick-Heart, abstract animation director Mirai Mizue's animated short film project "WONDER," Otakon and Studio Nasu's beat-em-up video game Crisis Heart Brawlers, Clash at Otakon!, and several English-language manga translations.
The Anime Sols crowdfunding and streaming platform launched last week to offer retro anime titles to fans.
