An original anime from Cowboy Bebop director Shinichirou Watanabe will be one of two “TAISU” works that serve as the opening films of the upcoming Niigata International Animation Film Festival. 

The 19-minute and 30-second (provisional) anime, titled TAISU A Girl meets A Boy and A Robot, follows an amnesiac girl who “meets a robot who has also lost its memory, and a young boy who is searching for the ‘Crystal of Time’, as they explore the truth of the world together.” MAPPA is the animation production company.

The other opening film is TAISU Tsuru no Mai by Tokyo Ghoul director Shuuhei Morita. The YAMATOWORKS-produced film is described as:

The lonely princess Tashen, by chance, establishes a connection with a foreign girl named Aila through a pair of twin flowers, and gradually opens up her heart while chatting with her. However, at this time, the shadow of war looms over them…

Tsuru no Mai has a listed runtime (provisional) of 24 minutes and 30 seconds.

The Niigata International Animation Film Festival will run from March 17 to 22. Its board members include former Gekkan Newtype editor-in-chief Shinichiro Inoue as festival director and animation journalist Tadashi Sudo (of Animation Business Journal) as program director.

Some of its aims include becoming “a hub that integrates animation culture and industry” and “a hub for international valuation in the Academy Program and share [sic] human resources development programs.” The festival will make use of eight locations in Niigata City, with four being screening areas. The festival features non-Japanese animation as well.

Among the Niigata International Animation Film Festival’s programs are:

• Feature Film Competition (which includes Vampire in the Garden)

• Trend of the World (which includes The Orbital Children and Sword Art Online the Movie -Progressive- Aria of a Starless Night)

• Retrospective (featuring the digitally remastered edition of Akira, Roujin-Z, and Neo Tokyo)

• All Night Show (featuring some of Makoto Shinkai‘s earlier films)

• Te technical staff/production company-themed Ohkawa and Fukiya Award (Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train and Jujutsu Kaisen 0 are some of the contenders).

There are also other programs like screenings of In This Corner of the World and The Sky Crawlers.

Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell and The Sky Crawler director, Vlad Love chief director) is one of the judges for the Feature Film Competition.