Logline: A production crew's mishaps and challenges in making an anime, exaggerated through the lens of a power rangers-like show.
"Behold! Strange creatures descend the skies of Tokyo - manifestations of her people's anxieties and paranoia, multiplying them tenfold! If left to run amok, it could lead to societal catastrophe among the populace! But not to fear. From the shadows rise those who shall meet their mettle - the Neo Tokyo Rangers! Hailing from the 5 districts that make the core of Tokyo, together they defend the city, inspiring it's people to face their fears with courage and hope!"
…Thus reads the synopsis of a new and upcoming tokusatsu franchise proposed by intellectual property goliath Badgai Manco, whose business model consists of churning out new products and merchandising to fund the company's infinity-growth, forever. As just another property thrown in the ring with the hopes of cultivating the next cash cow, the first season is handed off to an understaffed and overworked Production Crew.
But while the crew has limited funds in their pockets, passion flows in their hearts - and dammit, they'll thread the needle between the bottom line for their bosses and creating art that means something to them as creators and the audience alike.
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The anime is split into two halves. One is the daily experiences of the crew in the animation studio as they face mundane, real-life problems. The other half comprises of exaggerated, power-rangers-like battles against the problems they face, such as manifestations of crunch or deadlines. The purpose of the two halves is to champion the workers behind such a booming industry - the project is very much a love letter to the artists and animators who often remain uncelebrated.
Character Design: The Production Crew & Sentai Team
Above: Red's character sheets and development cycle, completed January 2024. She was the first character design I completed for this project, and was a cornerstone in designing the look of anime and the designs of the rest of the crew.
As a project concerned with the real-life tribulations of those who work in the anime industry, I wanted to make the two halves of the show distinct from one another; the more down-to-earth half of the show utilizing realistic character designs, distinct facial features, and muted pallets. Meanwhile, the tokusatsu side of the show features highly stylized and colourful character designs more reminiscent of modern anime.
Exploratory Sketches
Turnarounds
Concept Art: Anime Style Frame
Along with character designs, I had also drawn conceptual style frames for the sentai half of the show. While the colorful art direction of tokusatsu and anime were a huge influence, I also drew upon the paint-on-gold technique of yamato-e paintings and the experience of walking through the mix of traditional and modern that is unique to Tokyo.
Red: 3D model and updated design
As an assignment for 3D Character Modelling unit in university, I decided to re-create Sentai Leader Red. With the benefit of extra time, I addressed two components of her designed that I felt could have been made stronger: her status as a warrior, which was obscured in the original by leaning into the classic Sentai look, and the visual damage to her armor to indicate her experience.
Above: Character sheet and illustrations for Red's updated design, completed April 2024.
Left: Completed 3D model. For more information, see this page.
