Kemono-Friends-Director-No-Longer-Working-on-Season-2;-Animation-Studio-Resigns

Kemono Friends Director No Longer Working on Season 2; Animation Studio ‘Resigns’

The official Twitter account of TATSUKI, the director of the Kemono Friends anime, announced that he is no longer working on the series’ second season, as per notification from producer and publisher Kadokawa. In addition, the animation studio behind the series, Yaoyorozu, has resigned from the project and is also no longer working on the anime.

Kemono-Friends-Anime-Main-Visual

TATSUKI made the announcing earlier on the week, noting that Kadokawa has notified him that he is no longer working on the series. TATSUKI apologised to his fans about the news and expressed his disappointment.

The official website of the anime has released an official statement regarding the removal of TATSUKI. The statement mentions that the animation studio behind the first season Yaoyorozu, is pulling out of the second season due to production issues in August. Part of the issue was that the studio produced some work that was unauthorised to the official production committee. Kadokawa proposed that they, and official parties of the committee, were notified and communicated with through their official channels of any new works but the studio declined and thus are no longer working on the anime.

Nobuo Kawakami, the president of Kadokawa Dwango, made a comment on the situation mentioning that he was worried about the whole incident. He notes that TATSUKI is a hard working and is very passionate about Kemono Friends.

Needless to say, the upcoming second season of Kemono Friends will be delayed.

Here is the full translated statement from ANN:

Regarding Kemono Friends, we already had the privilege of announcing a new screen project, but since then, we have been considering whether to keep using the same production system or implement a new system for a new depiction. As of now, nothing has been decided yet regarding this. With this decision in mind, we prioritized the same production system used in the television anime that aired from January to March this year, and adjusted it to meet viewer expectations. However, we received word from animation studio Yaoyorozu of their intent to pull out this past August, so we currently have to start from square one on a production system.Regarding Kemono Friends, we already had the privilege of announcing a new screen project, but since then, we have been considering whether to keep using the same production system or implement a new system for a new depiction. As of now, nothing has been decided yet regarding this. With this decision in mind, we prioritized the same production system used in the television anime that aired from January to March this year, and adjusted it to meet viewer expectations. However, we received word from animation studio Yaoyorozu of their intent to pull out this past August, so we currently have to start from square one on a production system.

Kemono Friends begins with a philosophy of animals first, and through the input of many people it has spawned games, manga, anime, and stage plays. The doors are wide open, and with the help of people who believe in the philosophy we want to spread Kemono Friends around the world. As such, it is not a project that belongs to any one person, and so for the sake of the animals Kemono Friends resumed activity again.

However, there are works that Yaoyorozu, the studio that handled production, used without contacting or sharing information through the appropriate channels. In order to keep the next project going, we proposed to normalize sharing information in advance, but Yaoyorozu could not accept these conditions and declined.

In part due to the conditions above, the Kemono Friends screen project will be delayed, but from here on out we will collaborate with everyone who is working on the project to protect the work and its fans, and to carry on the mission of learning more about animals. We will update as soon as possible with information about the screen project.

Please enjoy upcoming Kemono Friends projects.

The production staff of the anime’s first season consisted of:

  • Director: TATSUKI (Tesagure! Bukatsu-mono Animation Director)
  • Series Composer: Shigenori Tanabe (Danchi Tomoo)
  • Chief Animation Director: Yoshihisa Isa (Debut Role)
  • Art Director: Yuuko Shiromizu (Ghost in the Shell: Arise and Sword Art Online Background Artist)
  • Sound Director: Nobuyuki Abe (Ai-Mai-Mi Surgical Friends, Fudanshi Koukou Seikatsu)
  • Animation Studio: Yaoyorozu (Minarai Diva)

The Kemono Friends TV anime aired during the Winter 2016/2017 anime season for a total of 12 episodes.

The main cast of the anime includes:

  • Yuka Ozaki (Ado Sukinanoka in Watashitachi, Luck Logic-bu!) voicing Serval

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  • Kana Motomiya (Debut Role) as Fennec

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  • Saki Ono (Kosaki Onodera from Nisekoi) who voices Common “Araiguma” Raccoon

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  • Aya Uchida (Kotori Minami from Love Live! School Idol Project) voicing the role of Kaban

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  • Mikoi Sasaki (Hercule Barton from Tantei Opera Milky Holmes) voicing as the Royal Penguin

Kemono-Friends-Anime-Character-Designs-Royal-Penguin

 

  • Ruka Nemoto (First Major Role) as Emperor “Koutei” Penguin

Kemono-Friends-Anime-Character-Designs-Emperor-Koutei-Penguin

 

  • Kyouka Tamura (Debut Role) voices Gentoo Penguin

Kemono-Friends-Anime-Character-Designs-Gentoo-Penguin

 

  • Aina Aiba (Tokoha Anjou in Cardfight!! Vanguard G) will be voicing Rockhopper “Iwatobi” Penguin

Kemono-Friends-Anime-Character-Designs-Rockhopper-Iwatobi-Penguin

 

  • Ikuko Chikuta (Debut Role) who voices Humboldt “Hululu” Penguin

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Kemono Friends is a multimedia project created by Mine Yoshizaki (Sgt. Frog) in collaboration with South Korean video game developer Nexon. The project started as a smartphone game in 2015 for Android and iOS devices. A manga adaptation of the game was produced in 2015 by Furai that ran until 2017 in Kadokawa Shoten’s Monthly Shonen Ace magazine, for a total of 2 compiled volumes. A TV anime adaptation was produced in the Winter 2016/2017 anime season for a total of 12 episodes, directed by TATSUKI (Tesagure! Bukatsu-mono Animation Director) and produced by Yaoyorozu (Minarai Diva). The series became a hit in Japan, trending multiple times on Twitter and even increased visitor rates to national zoos.

Here is the series synopsis from MAL:

Japari Park is an untamed paradise where many humanoid animals, known as “Friends,” live their everyday lives in all corners of the natural environmental park.Japari Park is an untamed paradise where many humanoid animals, known as “Friends,” live their everyday lives in all corners of the natural environmental park.

One lazy afternoon in the savannah area, the energetic Serval encounters a peculiar new Friend. Curious, she swiftly takes down the Friend, named Kaban, to try and discover what species she is. To Serval’s disappointment, not even Kaban herself knows the answer.

The two become friends and set out on a grand adventure through the many habitats, landmarks, and attractions of Japari Park. Their destination is the park library, where they hope to shed some light on Kaban’s identity. Along the way, they meet many other Friends, looking into their lives and helping them out. However, they soon begin to uncover the sinister reality behind the park and their own existence.

Kemono-Friends-TV-Anime-Visual

The director and production staff of the Kemono Friends anime are no longer working on the anime due to production disputes. The second season will still be in production albeit delayed. Further details about the status of the new project will be revealed in due time.

You can visit the anime’s website here: http://kemono-friends.jp/
And follow their Twitter: @kemo_anime

Source Article - TATSUKI Twitter
Source Article - Kemono Friends Website
Source Article - Anime News Network

“Kemono Friends”, images, video and all associated brands and titles © 2017 Mine Yoshizaki, Nexon, Yaoyorozu and the KFPA