Nippon Animation Celebrates 50 Years With Three Original Series at Annecy
The three new series represent Nippon Animation's pivot toward older audiences while honoring its legacy of children's adaptations.
Reporting from 1 sources: Cartoon Brew.
At the 2026 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Nippon Animation held a 50th anniversary panel and unveiled three original series: the sci-fi black comedy 2001: An Earth Odyssey, the gourmet drama Taverna!!!, and the Alice in Wonderland reimagining Alices. Producer Taiki Sakurai and director Yumiko Yoshizawa presented the projects, which mark a shift toward adult-oriented content for the studio. A sizzle reel of classics like Heidi and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer drew applause.
The Annecy crowd applauded as Nippon Animation's sizzle reel showed scenes from Heidi, Girl of the Alps and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, a reminder of the studio's 50-year history as a home for classic adaptations. But the three new series announced at the panel are aimed at older viewers. The first is 2001: An Earth Odyssey, a comedy about aliens examining abandoned human artifacts after our extinction. The second, Taverna!!!, is a 12-episode gourmet drama about a half-Japanese, half-Italian family restaurant where meals solve guests' problems. The last, Alices, offers a six-episode take on Alice in Wonderland structured for a potential film compilation.
- 2001: An Earth Odyssey: sci-fi black comedy about aliens investigating human extinction
- Taverna!!!: gourmet drama about a family restaurant, with a manga adaptation
- Alices: Alice in Wonderland reimagining told in six episodes, with a possible film compilation
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.