Production I.G & Masaaki Yuasa Raise Funds for Kick-Heart Short Film

by Florete
Oct 1, 2012 9:34 PM | 78 Comments

Production I.G and director Masaaki Yuasa recently launched a Kickstarter campaign for an original animated short film titled Kick-Heart. The campaign seeks to raise $150,000 by October 31st.

Staff
Director, Animator: Masaaki Yuasa
Project Consultant: Mamoru Oshii
Character Designer, Animator: Michio Mihara
Color Coordinator, Animator: Eunyoung Choi
Background Artist: Kevin Aymeric
Animation Production: Production I.G

Synopsis:
Kick-Heart is a love story between Romeo, a successful pro-wrestler, and Juliet, a nun who lives a secret double-life as a female pro-wrestler. Romeo's secret is that he enjoys taking a beating in the ring, while Juliet feels invigorated when facing her opponents as a wrestler. When the two meet in the ring, the fireworks fly. Their story is set in the colorful backdrop of the professional wrestling world. Will Juliet reveal her true identity to the one she loves? Will Romeo be able to share his secret to the world?

Source: Official website

Story by nextday

Kick-Heart on MAL

20 of 78 Comments Recent Comments

Nice. Takako Honda is quite good and, while I've only heard his voice acting in one show (Tonari), Tatsuhisa Suzuki is doing a solid job thus far.

Nov 11, 2012 6:45 PM by Josh

Voice actors for the main characters have been confirmed. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/production-ig/masaaki-yuasas-kick-heart/posts/346530?ref=email&show_token=1dd0389baa5c3e52

Romeo will be voiced by Tatsuhisa Suzuki
Juliet will be voiced by Takako Honda

Nov 11, 2012 6:22 PM by dgg

Works for me, try again.

Nov 1, 2012 9:37 AM by Josh

Thanks. One member, lol.

Oct 31, 2012 9:36 AM by Josh

Congrats to I.G for achieving their English Dub goal. Is there a MAL entry for this? Don't see one.

Oct 30, 2012 11:35 PM by Josh

If you guys want Batou doing the English dubs, they still need 4,500$ (they already have 1,500$ through paypal), and there are only 5 hours left.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/production-ig/masaaki-yuasas-kick-heart

Oct 30, 2012 3:51 PM by EratiK

Sweet. Just saw this, hope Yuasa will continue to make other and longer projects, he's too young to retire...
Damn, I didn't donate...
Pfeeyu, still 4 days left...
Now, T-shirt or poster... decisions, decisions...

Oct 26, 2012 4:10 PM by EratiK

bananapills said:
They have reached the $150,000! ^^

Wooooooooohooooooooooooooooo!!!

Gave them a dollar. :>

Oct 26, 2012 3:16 PM by Strife91

Guys, there's only about $10,000 left. Make this a reality!

Oct 23, 2012 6:57 AM by Marow

If anyone's still around here, Masaaki Yuasa is doing/did an AMA on Reddit.

Regardless of whether or not you like him, his answers are pretty interesting and it's great to get direct feedback from someone in the industry.

Oct 21, 2012 6:47 PM by Salinga

It's amazing to see how many are against this idea, when this could potentially be the start of a new era of anime if it is a success.

Oct 13, 2012 2:14 PM by Marow

I pledged $15 as well, since I only want the 480p version. I really am looking forward to this because it sounds awesome.

Oct 9, 2012 12:03 PM by SlaughterChichi

I pledged $15. For someone who lives in a poor country and works as a cleaner, that's pretty much a fortune, but I really love Yuasa's stuff and want to see this made.

Oct 9, 2012 3:28 AM by fanty

Pledging $100. Would do more for the actual print, but that's pushing it as it is.
I... love him.

Oct 6, 2012 5:54 PM by Arurie

Frankly if I had 10k I'd pledge it. Director of GitS and Yuasa in the same fucking room having dinner? That would be amazing. Plus a tour of Production I.G. studios. Really, I'd say that's pretty cheap considering it's pretty much a once in a lifetime experience.

Also I really hope this thing gets what it needs. If I wasn't a broke NEET right now I'd totally pledge for it. More Yuasa is always good.

Also, saying it now, this will be in the top 10 best anime of the year it's released, regardless of length.

Oct 5, 2012 3:03 PM by Seasonreaper

I lol'd. Hope everything goes well, I want to see it made.

Oct 4, 2012 2:51 PM by taterhead

Some rich motherfucker actually pledge that 10k package. Cheers for him/her.

Oct 3, 2012 4:48 PM by fertygo

Never heard of him before, but I watched the video and was impressed--I like his style! This is pretty cool. I hope this happens & I wish I had 10K to spare!

Oct 3, 2012 10:15 AM by xharumoni

Nidhoeggr said:

dankickyou said:

Because to many animu fans, no moe, no go.

I think the main problem is that most of the anime fans are mostly only watch harem, battle Shounen and generic romances and Light Novel adaption. I doubt most of them even know who the guys behind this project are. Would also explain A LOT of ratings and reviews on MAL.

While its not that simple, people do generally watch what they feel most comfortable with... Things that are different are often tough for people to try, so they resort back to the shows they know they like. This is how I am... I know I like cute girls, I know I like fighting shows, etc. I don't think I like artsy stuff, because the few I've seen I've never enjoyed, so I just stray away from those. The artsy stuff in general has a lot less draw to fans because many people just want to watch something without trying to challenge themselves. If I wanted to be challenged, I'd go take a class or something... entertainment is for fun.

Oct 3, 2012 8:50 AM by RyanSaotome

dankickyou said:

Because to many animu fans, no moe, no go.

Oct 3, 2012 8:45 AM by Nidhoeggr

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