As reported by 38 North, a website specializing in North Korean issues, the entire anime series Dahlia in Bloom: Crafting a Fresh Start With Magical Tools and Hokkaido-based animation studio EKACHI EPILKA have both issued statements denying the involvement of North Korean animators in their projects.
The report alleges that North Korean animators worked on the anime Dahlia in Bloom and another unspecified project by EKACHI EPILKA.
Official Twitter account of Dahlia in Bloom addressed the complaints in a statement clarifying that neither the production committee nor the production studio were previously aware of the information presented in the reports. It assured followers that the team is investigating the situation to uncover the truth behind these claims.
Regarding reports about the anime'Dahlia in Bloom: Crafting a Fresh Start with Magical Tools'
The production committee and the factory were aware of the information reported in a series of articles. However, this information is not based on facts known to them and they are currently investigating the matter.
EKACHI EPILKA also released a statement on their website, strongly denying the allegations. The studio clarified that layout panels belonging to them were used without their permission and that they had no connection to the leaked animation found on North Korean servers.
In some reports, our company has been listed as an anime production company involved in a cloud server believed to be managed by North Korea.
Our layout paper is being used without permission and has nothing to do with the painting or painted work. We suspected that money was flowing from a subcontractor, but we had never placed an order with them before and had no evidence of this.
The incident happened after Nick Roy, who runs the blog NK Internet, came across a North Korean server filled with animation files. Apparently, this server is not very secure, allowing anyone to peek into the daily workflow. The files contain instructions for animation work and completed projects, showing that North Korean animators are contributing to international productions.
Log files from North Korean servers revealed multiple visits to the film from internet connections from China, suggesting that workers in China may have passed information to their North Korean counterparts.
Source: Dahlia In The Bloom TwitterEKACHI EPILKA
