Each year at Anime Expo, the largest anime and manga convention in North America, Japanese animation studios, Production I.G and Wit Studio hold their industry panel hosted by Maki Terashima-Furuta, President of Production I.G USA. This panel covers new information regarding existing series and the announcement of upcoming animations being created by each studio.
With famous titles such as “Attack on Titan,” “Haikyuu!!,” “Psycho-Pass,” and “Ghost in the Shell” under Production I.G and Wit Studio’s belts, the panel always attracts a large crowd at Anime Expo. Hundreds of fans gathered in the Peacock Theater, eagerly awaiting what announcements were in store.
This year’s panel did not disappoint, discussing many upcoming works for fans to be excited about. The panel featured special guests, co-founder of Production I.G Ishikawa Mitsuhisa, producer at Production I.G and President of Wit Studio George Wada, stop-motion animation director Tomoki Misato, and animation producer Kenta Yamada.
This year’s announcements began with confirmation of “Kaiju No. 8” receiving a second season, set to premiere later this month. The audience was shown a trailer for the upcoming season, which had been released online three weeks prior. Only released last April, the series has gone on to attract a large audience, securing its own dedicated panel at this year’s Anime Expo.
Following this was the announcement of the most recent installment within the “Haikyuu!!” series, the upcoming movie, “Haikyuu!! Vs. The Little Giant.” This film will serve as a sequel to the 2024 film, “Haikyuu!! The Dumpster Battle.”
“Haikyuu!!” is a series animated by Production I.G and follows the story of a boy named Shoyo Hinata, who falls in love with volleyball and dreams of becoming a top volleyball player despite his short stature. With the widespread success of the series and the success of “Haikyuu!! The Dumpster Battle” the movie that earned over 11 billion yen and became the second highest-grossing film of the year in Japan in 2024, fans excitedly await what is to come for the series.
Shifting from the action-packed “Kaiju No. 8,” President Maki Terashima-Furuta wanted to make it clear to the audience that Production I.G and Wit Studio aren’t just known for their action-packed and gory shows, but also their playful titles. This was followed by the announcement of a new Rilakkuma animation by Production I.G.
While Rilakkuma already received its own stop-motion animation series in the form of “Rilakkuma and Kaoru,” this announcement marks the beginning of a brand new series surrounding the Rilakkuma character. This announcement came with the showcase of a trailer that was first seen in October 2024.
Following the announcement, special guests director Tomoki Misato and Producer Kenta Yamada of Wit Studio were welcomed to the stage. Both Misato and Yamada had a chance to talk about their experience working in the animation industry and on stop-motion animation projects.
Misato earned his master’s degree from Tokyo University of the Arts in 2016, where he created his first self-animation movie as a graduation project. In search of a job, he then submitted his films to as many film festivals as possible to increase job prospects. This led Misato to create and present his award-winning films “Look at Me Only” and “My Little Goat” at international festivals.
In 2021, Misato then made his debut as a TV director with the creation of the series “PUI PUI Molcar.” He now works at Wit Studio, where he founded a new stop-motion studio and has begun directing new projects.
Yamada initially started his career working as a production assistant on titles such as “The Rolling Girls” and “Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress.” He then went on to serve as production desk for “Pokémon the Movie: The Power of Us” and contribute towards the creation of Wit Studio’s Ibaraki Studio. This then led him to become the producer for stop-motion projects at Wit Studio, where he continues to work on new titles.
The special guests began by showcasing “Candy Caries,” a stop motion anime promotional video released by Wit Studio in March 2021 that both Misato and Yamada worked on. The two discussed the challenges and rewards of working within the animation industry and the importance of teamwork and collaboration in order to achieve high-quality animations. Furthermore, they highlighted the importance of not being a perfectionist in order to maintain a sense of authenticity within their works.
Misato and Yamada then introduced their upcoming series, “My Melody and Kuromi.” While both characters have previously appeared in the “Onegai My Melody” anime series created by Studio Comet that ran in 2005 and the YouTube animated web series, “Kuromi’s Pretty Journey,” this title is the newest series featuring the two Sanrio characters.
Starting to wrap up, the panel discussed a few quick announcements about future releases from Wit Studio. Season 3 of “Spy x Family” was announced to be released this October. It was also announced that “Ascendance of a Bookworm” will be receiving a fourth season. At a separate panel dedicated to the series last Saturday, a new trailer was shown, which revealed the series will air in the spring of 2026.
It was also announced that “Agents of the Four Seasons: Dance of Spring,” a series created by the same author of the award-winning series “Violet Evergarden,” will be receiving an anime release. However, unlike “Violet Evergarden,” which was animated by Kyoto Animation, this series will be animated by Wit Studio. President George Wada announced that Wit Studio will work hard to surpass Kyoto Animation by creating an even better series.
With the remaining time left, the panelists opened up the floor to the audience, where fans enthusiastically lined up for a Q&A session. Some of the questions from fans included the future of their favorite anime adaptations, such as “Haikyuu!!,” and the possible return of older series, such as “FLCL.” Fans then received giveaway items after asking their questions.
The panel ran for a total of 80 minutes with nonstop announcements and excitement regarding the future of Production I.G and Wit Studio. With Production I.G and Wit Studio’s reputation of being highly regarded animation studios, fans can only wait in anticipation for what series they will bring to life next.