Unreal Engine 5 has tremendous potential as an anime production tool, according to Japanese studio 

Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 5 (UE5) has brought no end of games to life. But now the game development engine is being applied to improve the anime production process. Japanese studio Tsumugi Akita Anime Lab is a forerunner of this new approach. The results of using UE5 in anime can be seen in their series I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince so I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability (hereafter 7^th Prince). 

In an extensive interview with Weekly ASCII, Tsumugi Akita Anime Lab’s president and 7^th Prince’s producer Tsukasa Sakurai talks about how 7^th Prince’s production process was very different to that of a regular anime series. Sakurai explains that for most anime TV series “the script and direction/storyboarding staff are usually different for each episode, but for this show, the same people worked on all the episodes.” What’s more, the same staff were able to work on areas that would normally be handled by separate specialists. 

This is all thanks to how Tsumugi Akita used Unreal Engine 5 – which allowed them to drastically reorganize production. “We don’t have a team for 3D, but a production system whereby everyone can work across different conventional processes using Unreal Engine 5.” Sakurai explains.  

The idea to use Unreal Engine 5 came when Tsumugi Akita participated in the Japanese Government’s Anime no Tane program (an initiative to increase the skills of young animators) in 2021. Sakurai explains that during this time, he stumbled across a demo for UE5 on YouTube and asked Naoki Tozuka (who is now responsible for 7^th Prince’s series composition and art direction) to try using it to animate the background for a scene in the short film they made for the project (Ryuugeki no Kyoukotsu). The result worked out well. “From this, we were convinced that anyone could use it (UE5), so we decided to incorporate it into our production process for TV series.” Sakurai explains. 

UE5 is relatively easy to learn compared to specialized 3D computer graphics tools. This accessibility makes it easier for anime creatives to make 3D models and backgrounds, allowing all members of the team to work on a sequence together. They can also see how any changes affect the work in real-time, which makes it easier to freely try out new ideas. This also enables animation staff to instantly implement any changes based on the director’s feedback, a process that could conventionally take days. Overall, they found that using Unreal Engine 5 sped up the production process and improved the quality of the final product. 

Sakurai clarifies that “the background team is responsible for backgrounds, 3D background modelling and 2DCG monitor graphics. The drawing team is also able to work on all aspects of CG.” He later adds that, “The director also plays with the Unreal Engine during the storyboarding stage. This is like doing location scouting for an anime.” The animations are inspected by the team who did the original drawings, which is unusual. It seems like UE5’s ease of use makes it easier for everyone to be on the same page. 

Naoki Tozuka explains that all of the backgrounds for the 7^th Prince anime were created in 3D in Unreal Engine 5 (except for the image backgrounds used to express the inner thoughts and emotions of the characters). To give you a feel for what this looks like at the development stage, Tozuka uploaded a test video on X, showing a 3D scenery model created in Unreal Engine 5. 

I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince so I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability is available to stream on Crunchyroll and Amazon (depending on your region).