Game Spark interviewed Taiki, the solo Hungarian developer behind the onboard survival horror game Don't Sleep With The Fishes, released for PC on June 26. The game draws inspiration from the 60 Seconds! series, with a 45-second supply-gathering phase. Taiki discussed user feedback, future updates, and the lack of Japanese language support.
Salamander Pictures and Nippon Animation will premiere their nearly eight-minute anime short 20001 An Earth Odyssey in competition at the Fantasia International Film Festival on July 18. The festival runs in Montreal from July 16 to August 2. The short is the first original project from Taiki Sakurai's Tokyo-based studio Salamander Pictures. Sakurai, who previously worked at Production I.G. and spent seven years building Netflix's anime business in Japan, left the streamer to focus on riskier original work. The sci-fi comedy follows three aliens who arrive on Earth 20,000 years after humanity vanishes and misinterpret every artifact they find, treating a playground as a sacred site and an umbrella as advanced technology. Sakurai describes the short as a family-friendly comedy with a meditation on history and archaeology. The production involved art director Jessie Liu from Los Angeles, animators from Korea and France, and Maru Animation. Sakurai plans to expand the concept into a series of five-minute episodes and is seeking partners after the festival premiere.
The television anime adaptation of Takeru Hokazono's manga "Kagurabachi" has released the first character visual and character promotional video for protagonist Chihiro Rokuhira, voiced by Taiki Kimura. The anime is scheduled to begin airing in April 2027. The character PV shows Chihiro with a piercing gaze and includes his line, "I cannot overlook scum like you wielding a sword." He is depicted in a black coat accompanied by a black goldfish. The series is a neo-Japanese sword action story set in a world where a mysterious sorcerer organization called Hishaku steals six powerful Enchanted Blades and kills Chihiro's father, a renowned swordsmith. Chihiro takes up the seventh blade, Enten, to seek revenge and reclaim the stolen swords. The original manga has surpassed 4 million copies in cumulative circulation including digital editions. The anime is directed by Tetsuya Takeuchi, with character designs by Keigo Sasaki, and animation production by studio Cypic. The production committee includes Shochiku and CyberAgent.