Yusuke Murata, the manga artist of One-Punch Man and Eyeshield 21, announced on X (formerly Twitter) on January 1 JST that he had founded an animation studio.
The announcement came shortly after the release of more footage for Zaiyuki, the original anime that Murata had been working on since at least early 2023. Zaiyuki, which follows a kappa and a cast of Journey to the West-inspired characters, is produced by Village Studio.
Murata’s post received congratulatory and supportive replies from a few animators, namely Masaaki Endou (Doraemon the Movie: Nobita’s Sky Utopia co-effect animation director), Takashi Hashimoto (High Card co-main animator, Mononoke character designer), and Mahmoud (Urusei Yatsura Episode 22 co-animation director). Details about the new studio were not revealed.
Murata previously released a One-Punch Man short in 2021 and an Eyeshield 21 short in 2023. These were also produced by Village Studio.
— 村田雄介 (@NEBU_KURO) December 29, 2023
— 村田雄介 (@NEBU_KURO) December 29, 2023
4 ちょっと調整&カット追加しました。 pic.twitter.com/dYqXBHf6RH
— 村田雄介 (@NEBU_KURO) December 31, 2023
5 以上です pic.twitter.com/1gTc8WzSto
— 村田雄介 (@NEBU_KURO) December 31, 2023
Source: @NEBU_KURO