Kodansha and creative company Kurogo have launched Synchro Project – a collaboration project featuring several creators with the goal of crafting new IPs based on opening sequences for fictional anime. Opening sequences that become popular with fans will be adapted into anime, manga, novels, and other forms of media.
The project is similar to mixed media expansions that are based on indie or short anime, as well as pilot episodes. Using an author’s original story as a starting point, the companies bring together a diverse group of creators to collaborate on a single opening. The creators are compensated using a system that distributes revenue generated from their work after deducting expenses (the terms for revenue distribution per creator vary depending on their contract details).
Kurogo manages the artist and creator initiatives, while Kodansha Creators Lab (an R&D division designed to help the company meet and support creators from different genres) provides support for original content creation.
Five anime openings make up the first phase of the project and will be released on the official Synchro Project YouTube channel on a monthly basis starting August. The songs will subsequently be made available on music streaming services (including Spotify and Apple Music)..
The first opening, titled “Clothing, Food, Food, Food, Housing,” has already been released. Based on an original work by manga artist and illustrator Ken Sogen (Seishun Bakusou!, Nakano Boogie-Woogie), it features music by DÉ DÉ MOUSE and vocals by HITOMITOI (with storyboard and animation by pre_sktch and cinematography and editing by Ontama). It takes place in a world where civilization has collapsed due to crop failures and resource depletion brought about by global warming. Cooking culture is all but lost, with people relying solely on rationed supplies.
The story follows Hotaru, a 13-year-old amnesiac who travels through the Tokyo ruins in a mobile food cart. With a single kitchen knife on her back, she hopes to revive the concept of fine cuisine in the world by opening her own restaurant. Elsewhere, a plot to transition humanity into “Post-Humans” starts to unravel, with the new evolution requiring neither food nor sleep. As Hotaru embarks on her culinary journey, she is forced to confront the truth of the world as well as her origins.
According to Kurogo representative director Gin Kudo, the goal of Synchro Project is to create an “ecosystem where creators and their IPs grow together” – one in which, as the project grows, both the creators and the company are given appropriate remuneration and where one challenge leads to the next. As fans support the body of work by watching videos, listening to music, or buying merchandise, they help develop the project into a full-fledged IP.
You can find out more about Synchro Project on its official webpage.
