Following the release of Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan adaptation, Netflix is releasing another anime set in a steampunk-themed alternate history called Sparks of Tomorrow, and it comes from celebrated studio Kyoto Animation, known for creating Clannad (2007), K-On! (2009), Violet Evergarden (2018), and more.
Sparks of Tomorrow is set in early 20th-century Kyoto, where steam power is the world’s main source of energy. The story centers on a boy named Kihachi Sakamoto, who has lost his brother and their shared dreams of the “Age of Electricity.” Kihachi meets a girl named Inako Momokawa, who is deeply devoted and hides regrets for her deceased mother. When the two cross paths, “they set about exploring the secrets of the 20th Century Electrical Catalog, a glimpse into the future they long for,” according to the synopsis provided by Netflix in a news release. Now the two must confront their individual pasts to step forward into the futures they both believe in.
Image: Kyoto Animation/Netflix
Sparks of Tomorrow is based on the light novel “20 Seiki Denki Mokuroku” by Hiro Yuki (published by KA Esuma Bunko / Kyoto Animation) and directed by Minoru Ota (City the Animation). The series composition is handled by Tatsuhiko Urahata, with Kohei Okamura serving as character designer and chief animation director. World-building is overseen by Takaaki Suzuki, while the music is composed by Hitomi Koto. The animation is produced by Kyoto Animation, with Yuma Uchida starring as Kihachi Sakamoto alongside Sora Amamiya as Inako Momokawa.
Kyoto Animation, known also as KyoAni, is renowned for two things: the high value of its productions and the excellent treatment of its staff, which is, unfortunately, still an uncommon occurrence in the Japanese animation industry. Unlike most other studios, KyoAni’s employees are salaried rather than freelance, which allows them to focus on quality in their productions, rather than rushing to meet quotas. The animators are also trained in-house, a practice that MAPPA VP Hiroya Hasegawa also promised his studio would begin to adopt.
Netflix is clearly investing a lot in anime as one of the most profitable forms of content on the platform. After the recent announcement of a full-time partnership with MAPPA, it’s great to see other studios, especially one with a pristine reputation like Kyoto Animation, involved with the streaming colossus, especially as this new anime is presented as “a new frontier” for the studio.
Sparks of Tomorrow is slated to premiere on Netflix in July.
AloJapan.com