In recent decades, the anime studio Orange (“BEASTARS”, “Trigun Stampede”) has become one of the leading Japanese creators in the CGI anime scene. According to Eiji InomotoChief Executive Officer and Representative of Orange, His team had to overcome several major obstacles before achieving success: firstly, audiences were often much less accustomed to CGI animation.

Orange opened its doors in 2004, the year in which studios increasingly turned to CGI to facilitate the production of their anime. However, creating a CGI anime studio was still relatively risky, as most only did commissioned work for other major studios. However, Inomoto believed that there were certain things that his team could only achieve effectively using CGI. During a recent interview, Inomoto explained why he decided to throw caution to the wind and start forming an in-house team to create original productions with CGI animation.

Inomoto began his career in CGI production as a freelancer in the video game industry. In 1999, he began applying his talent to anime production. One of his first projects was “Zoids,” a science fiction mecha anime that became a huge national success. He was also responsible for the animation of the Tachikoma robots in “Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (2002).” These series opened Inomoto's mind to the possibilities of CG animation, but he still had reservations about opening his own studio.

«In the anime industry at that time, the demand for CGI increased in order to compensate for difficult-to-process parts in animation.», says Inomoto. «Due to this unstable situation, production companies specializing in CGI animation were able to continue generating profits. But to be honest, I didn’t know if I could continue producing… I didn’t know if a company specializing in CGI could function as a business.».

Orange initially began subcontracting work for studios such as Satelight (Genesis of Aquarius) and Kinema Citrus (.Hack//Quantam). In 2017, the studio was chosen as the main contractor for an anime called Land of the Lustrous. This meant that Orange handled almost all major aspects of the production, including script, storyboards, and animation.

Inomoto saw this as a golden opportunity to start using CGI for things that audiences were less accustomed to at that time. «I made this piece with the idea that I wanted anime fans to embrace CGI, and it was great that this piece finally achieved that goal. Up until then, robots and other devices had been popular, but in Land of the Lustrous, CGI characters were well received.», Inomoto explained.

While Inomoto was actively trying to make CGI more appealing to mainstream audiences, he admits that audience attitudes in 2017 influenced how he designed the series. «When I was working on Land of the Lustrous, my goal was to achieve a line that looked both animated and CGI. The other day, I happened to see it again and thought, 'at the time, I thought this was the best thing ever'. But if now I had to do Land of the ShiningI wouldn't do it like that. It's been seven years, and both the public's tolerance for CGI and my own tastes have changed, because the parts of CGI that make people comfortable have changed.».

Inomoto realized this soon after the premiere of “Trigun Stampede (2023),” which quickly gained a dedicated audience. «We created Trigun Stampede anticipating that there would be negative reactions, such as “too much movement.” In fact, some people said that in the early days of the broadcast, but the broadcast ended on a much better note than I expected.».

Orange is currently working on the highly anticipated final season of “BEASTARS.” In addition, Orange is also developing a new anime inspired by historical events, which Inomoto describes as a “new challenge” for his studio. However, Inomoto faces the challenge with optimism and high hopes for the future of his team. «Orange's next goal is to make a full CGI blockbuster, so I hope we can achieve that and get even more people to take on CGI jobs.».

Source: Natalie in comics