Ryuya Suzuki's Self-Animated Feature 'Jinsei' Opens in U.S. Theaters
Suzuki's solo production pipeline-from learning Procreate in 2020 to a theatrical feature in five years-demonstrates that a single animator can complete a feature-length film without a studio or large crew.
Reporting from 1 sources: Cartoon Brew.
Japanese filmmaker Ryuya Suzuki taught himself animation on an iPad during the COVID-19 lockdowns and completed his debut feature 'Jinsei' as a one-man crew over 18 months. The film, which tells a century-long story about a pop idol, opened in Japan in May 2025, screened at Annecy, and arrives in U.S. theaters on June 12, 2026, distributed by Greenwich Media.
Ryuya Suzuki had never animated before 2020. After graduating from Tohoku University of Art and Design, he intended to make live-action films, but early burnout and the pandemic pushed him to borrow an iPad from his retail job and teach himself animation using Procreate. He made two short films, 'Mahoroba' and 'Lawless Love,' whose reception led him to crowdfund a feature. 'Jinsei' took 18 months to produce, with Suzuki handling writing, animation, editing, production design, character design, color design, and composition himself. He recorded actors including rapper Ace Cool, Remi Chon, Kanji Tsuda, and Ayumu Nakajima, but otherwise worked alone. The film follows Se-Chen (Ace Cool) across 100 years and 10 chapters, starting with his dream of becoming a pop idol. Suzuki worked chronologically, completing about five minutes per month on 13-hour daily iPad sessions. He cited a 2000 Crayon Shin-chan movie with a five-minute dialogue-free sequence as a major influence, and the aspect ratio shifts from square to widescreen, inspired by the 2014 film 'Mommy.' 'Jinsei' opened in Japan in May 2025, screened at Annecy, and goes wide in U.S. theaters on June 12, 2026.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.