Dark Horse Comics is preparing a second edition of DEVA ZAN, the artbook novel by legendary artist Yoshitaka Amano, which will include a newly created illustration. The release is tied to the broader ZAN project, which encompasses a limited anime series, a P2E blockchain game, and NFT artwork.
ZAN Anime Series Assembles Mecha Veterans
The ZAN anime, based on Amano’s DEVA ZAN artwork, brings together a team of seasoned mecha anime professionals — many of whom previously collaborated on Armored Trooper Votoms.
- Masashi Ikeda (Samurai Troopers episodes 1–19, Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, Inuyasha) and Tōru Yoshida (mecha animation director on Blue Comet SPT Layzner; character animation director on Mobile Suit Gundam Seed) are co-directing the anime.
- Ryōsuke Takahashi, creator and director of Votoms and director of Fang of the Sun Dougram and Gasaraki, is handling series scripts.
- Moriyasu Taniguchi, animation director on Fang of the Sun Dougram, Armored Trooper Votoms, and Blue Comet SPT Layzner, serves as chief animation director.
- Kunio Ōkawara, known for his mechanical designs across the Gundam franchise and numerous other mecha titles, is the mechanical designer.
- Minoru Nishida (The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love?, Thundercats, The Last Unicorn) is the art director.
Production Now Underway
On June 17, Amano announced the establishment of Yoshitaka Amano Inc., a Los Angeles-based company, and confirmed that production on the anime has officially begun. The project is now designated as a limited anime series, a shift from its previous status as a theatrical project.
ZAN was first announced in 2010 as an anime film that would mark Amano’s directorial debut. He founded Studio Deva Loka specifically for the project, which was originally slated for a worldwide release in 2012. That version was never released, and the project was rebooted as a series in 2022. A theatrical release had previously been targeted for 2026 or later.
Producers and Partners
Jaymen Tokyo and Good Win are listed as producers on the project, alongside Mariko Suzuki of M’s Management Studio, film producer Hiroaki Ikegami, Kazuhiko Yusa (representative director of Jaymen Tokyo), and Shin Koyamada (CEO of N LITE Japan). Dark Horse Comics and SOZO Comics are credited with “special cooperation.”
The blockchain and NFT components of the ZAN project will be supported by Singaporean blockchain development firm Trophee.
Yoshitaka Amano Inc. and the AMANO Exhibition
Yoshitaka Amano Inc. operates across film and animation production, artist management, licensing, and art events and galleries. An exhibition titled “AMANO,” inspired by the artist’s work, is set to expand with experiences planned across the U.S., Europe, China, Southeast Asia, and Japan beginning in 2027. Partners on the exhibition include Medicom Toy Corporation, Milestone Inc. (part of the Good Smile Company Group), and Twin Planet Co., Ltd.
About Yoshitaka Amano
Amano is best known internationally for his work on Vampire Hunter D, the Final Fantasy video game series, and his collaboration with author Neil Gaiman on Sandman: The Dream Hunters. He entered the anime industry at age 15 upon joining Tatsunoko Production and has contributed to a wide range of anime and game projects over his career.
Amano is also a member of GIBIATE PROJECT, a global IP development group that created the Gibiate anime, announced at Anime Expo 2019 and broadcast in July 2020. He additionally provided character designs for the Netflix anime Exception, which debuted in October 2022.
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