Japanese production company CHOCOLATE Inc. has released a 1-minute pilot for its upcoming experimental anime film project KILLTUBE. The 90-minute feature film is expected to be released worldwide sometime in Spring 2026.
The pilot film is based on the theme of “Edo punk,” and showcases Tokyo’s Shibuya and Shinjuku districts in a parallel world, where the Edo shogunate has shut off Japan for over four centuries into 2026. The production staff will utilize 3D CG animation to emulate the imagery of Showa era woodblock prints in bright colors and multiple textures. The film has a reported budget of 1 billion yen (US$6.5 million).
Kazuaki Kuribayashi (Kizumonogatari film trilogy web production assistant) will be directing and planning the anime film at STUDIO DOTOU. VFX studio Kassen and artist collective Wachajack are also credited as co-creators for the film.
The full production staff for the film listed in the pilot includes:
- • Scriptwriters: Saeri Natsuo, Ryo Takemura, Takenori Tokuyama
- • World View Setting: Yusuke Ujita
- • Technical Direction: CAVIAR’s Takumi Shiga , Masato Goto, Bivi, Frog96, Marusou
- • Character Design/Technical Direction: Nike Shimaguchi
- • Technical Direction/VFX Supervisor: Kassen’s Takahiro Ota
- • Music Director: Matsuza Katakumi
- • Music Composition: Takao Ogi
- • Concept Art Director: Wachajack’s Fujihiko Sawai
- • Concept Artist: Shusei Sasaya
- • Character Settings: ARuFa
- • Graphic Designer: Masataka Yoshida
- • Art Director: Takuya Sekikawa
- • CG Lead Animator: StudioNoco’s Daisuke Kaneko
- • CG Supervisor: Yūki Mizoguchi
- • CG Animation Supervisor: MontBlanc Pictures’s Satoshi Takeno
- • Background Modeling Supervisor: Barehand’s Jun Kazuse
- • CG Effects Supervisor: Tai Komatsu
- • Technical Artist: Hiroyuki Okada
- • CG Producer: Nanao Nakatsuka
KILLTUBE will be CHOCOLATE Inc’s first anime film production as part of its “108 Experiments” initiative to develop new ways to “create works, present them, and earn revenue to nurture original stories.” The company previously worked on the production and publicity for the Dark Gathering TV anime series, as well as planning the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba’s Total Concentration exhibition.
Concept visuals of the film’s settings in Shibuya and Shinjuku were also posted on KILLTUBE’s Twitter account earlier this week.
2026 江戸時代 / Shibuya + Shinjuku#KILLTUBE pic.twitter.com/eN5WgFkCef
— KILLTUBE official (@KILLTUBEJP) April 10, 2024
2026江戸時代 / 渋谷#KILLTUBE pic.twitter.com/LHBusDb4Eu
— KILLTUBE official (@KILLTUBEJP) April 9, 2024
The official synopsis of the film is described as:
In 2026, Japan continues its isolation under the Edo Shogunate. Amidst strict social hierarchies, three individuals, treated as scums of society, cross paths in a prison cell destined for a fateful encounter. They join the dueling video platform “KILLTUBE” to pursue fortune and to win their freedom in a segregational world.
In an era dubbed the “Age of Great Duels,” where one can amass immense wealth simply by defeating the strong, they face discrimination from samurais and merchants seeking power and authority. As they break the limits of convention and claim victory after victory, they rise in popularity, becoming decorated celebrities of their time.
However, just as they reach the height of their fame, they uncover the hidden truth behind “KILLTUBE”…
Source: PR Times, Anime News Network, KILLTUBE Official Twitter