The ZAN anime project — based on artist Yoshitaka Amano‘s DEVA ZAN art series — has officially unveiled its production staff, bringing together a remarkable roster of mecha anime veterans, many of whom previously collaborated on the classic Armored Trooper Votoms.
Staff Lineup
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 series.
Ryōsuke Takahashi, the creator and director behind Armored Trooper Votoms, Fang of the Sun Dougram, Blue Comet SPT Layzner, 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.
Legendary mechanical designer Kunio Ōkawara — whose credits span Votoms and numerous entries in the Gundam franchise — is designing the series’ mechanical elements. Minoru Nishida (The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love?, Thundercats, The Last Unicorn) is the art director.
First Trailer at Anime Expo 2025
On June 17, Amano announced the establishment of Yoshitaka Amano Inc., a Los Angeles-based company focused on film and animation production, artist management, licensing, and art events. The announcement confirmed that production on the anime is underway. ZAN is now listed as a limited anime series, and its first trailer will premiere at Anime Expo in Los Angeles on July 3, 2025. Takahashi, Yoshida, and Taniguchi are all scheduled to attend the event.
A Project Over 15 Years in the Making
ZAN has a long history. It was first announced in 2010 as an anime film that would mark Amano’s directorial debut, produced under his own Studio Deva Loka, with a planned worldwide release in 2012 that never materialized. Amano has said the concept dates back to 2000. The project was rebooted as a series in 2022, while a previously announced theatrical version had been slated for 2026 or later.
Producers and Partners
Jaymen Tokyo and Good Win are listed as producers alongside Mariko Suzuki (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 receive “special cooperation” credits.
ZAN is part of a broader project that also encompasses a P2E blockchain game and NFT art, with Singaporean blockchain development firm Trophee contributing to those components. Dark Horse Comics previously released the DEVA ZAN artbook in hardcover in January 2013.
AMANO Exhibition and Yoshitaka Amano Inc.
Beyond the anime, Yoshitaka Amano Inc. is expanding the “AMANO” exhibition — inspired by Amano’s artwork — with experiences planned across the U.S., Europe, China, Southeast Asia, and Japan starting in 2027. Partners include Medicom Toy Corporation, Milestone Inc. (part of the Good Smile Company Group), and Twin Planet Co., Ltd.
Amano is best known internationally for Vampire Hunter D, the Final Fantasy series, and his collaboration with Neil Gaiman on Sandman: The Dream Hunters. He has been active in the anime industry since the age of 15, when he joined Tatsunoko Production. More recently, he co-developed the Gibiate anime (premiered July 2020) and created character designs for Netflix’s Exception (October 2022).
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