Projects include the animated/live-action horror noir crossover Ripper, the sci-fi adventure series Hotaru
Entertainment news website Variety reported on Thursday that N LITE is teaming up with GONZO and Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse co-director Peter Ramsey will produce two animated projects: a black thriller titled Ripper and a sci-fi adventure series titled Hotaru (pictured below).
Image via GONZO Website
Ripper will be a live-action and animation hybrid film set in post-World War II Japan. Ramsey is an executive producer and co-writer. Diverse story descriptions:
Currently in development, the film tells the story of two detectives hunting a serial killer who has taken the lives of the women each of them loves.
Ramsey added of the story, “The shared experiences of blacks and Japanese in Japan during World War II is an intersection of history and culture the likes of which we have never seen on screen.”
Samantha Inoue Harte is the author and writer of the film. Producers and co-writers Paul Alvarado-Dykstra and Rafael Antonio Ruiz are also credited as creators. JuVee Productions is producing the production alongside N LITE and GONZO. GONZO CEO Shinichirō Ishikawa also serves as executive producer along with Julius Tennon and Melanie Clark of JuVee Productions. Alvarado-Dykstra and N LITE CEO Christiano Terry also serve as producers.
Ramsey will also serve as executive producer of Hotaru. N LITE describes the series as a “riveting sci-fi/fantasy adventure series about two star-crossed magic-wielding warriors bound by love and pain.” Inoue Harte also is the creator of Hotaru, along with Alvarado-Dykstra and Terry. Terry also serves as producer, and Inoue Harte and Alvarado-Dykstra also serve as executive producers.
Viola Davis and Julius Tennon's JuVee Productions is collaborating with multimedia company N LITE on MFINDA”AFRIME” or “afro-anime.”N LITE is producing MFINDA in Japan. Masao Maruyama of MAPPA is producing and Tarō Maki of Studio M2 is one of the executive producers. Gisaburō Sugii (Touch, Jack to Mame no Ki, Night on the Galactic Railroad, Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie) is directing. American animation producer and distributor GKIDS is a co-producing partner.
N LITE aims to bring Black and Indigenous stories to life in partnership with global creators. AFRIME, or Afro-anime, is hand-drawn 2D animation. The company plans to produce AFRIME films and television series. N LITE Japan is working on upcoming projects based on anime and manga IP.
Sources: Variety (Jamie Lang), Animation Business Magazine (Tadashi Sudo), GONZO
