Japan's First Black-Owned Anime Studio Should Be on Every Fan's Radar
Japan's first major anime studio created by Black animators should be on every fan's radar. In fact, you might've already seen its work.
Many anime fans are not aware of how the industry has evolved to encompass a greater scope of diverse animators contributing to the medium of Japanese anime. One such example is D'ART Shtajio, a 2-D animation studio situated in Tokyo founded by 32-year-old animator Henry Thurlow, background artist Arthell Isom and his twin brother Darnell. The three created a studio that would infuse American sensibilities in with Japanese anime, and ended up working on some fairly huge anime projects. The Isom twins are both Black men, making D'Art Shtajio one of the first major anime studios founded by Black men.
D'Art Shtajio's Foundation
Before founding D'ART Shtajio in 2016, Arthell Isom worked with animation studio Ogura Kobo as a background animator on Bleach, Gintama, Black Butler, Lupin III: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine and Naruto -- to name just a few of his iconic credits. He worked primarily alongside his mentor Hiromasa Ogura, best known as the background animator on Ninja Scroll and Ghost in the Shell.
Henry Thurlow worked with Nakamura Production as an In-Between Animator on Pokémon Origins and Gundam Build Fighters, while also working with Pierrot Animation Room on multiple Tokyo Ghoul series as both an in-netween animator and key animator. In an interview with Japan Times, Thurlow exposed his frustration working as an animator without having his creative input taken seriously -- or even being credited. "Back then I was drawing for Gundam and Pokémon, but my name was never mentioned and I was literally making $4 a day.”
The two formed a collaborative team employing multiple foreign animators to work on major Japanese animation productions. Foreign animators, according to industry insiders close to Tadashi Sudo (former CEO of Anime! Anime!), roughly five percent of animators working in anime are foreign to Japan. Sudo continued, "The number of non-Japanese (in Japan) is increasing, not only on production work, but also on anime planning, management as producers, and handling rights sales and public relations.”
In regards to his success, in an interview with SyFy Wire, Isom said, "The great thing is with us being here, Black creators seek us out. It's a great opportunity to work with them. We've worked with quite a few like independent manga creators with projects like Tephlon Funk and XOGENASYS; we get the opportunity to then tell more Black stories. These are storytellers who want to see their story adapted to anime form."
Their Portfolio
D'ART Shtajio has worked on multiple high profile projects since its inception. While it has worked on Western projects such as Castlevania Season 3, D'ART has, due to its incredible work ethic and high quality product, worked on many huge anime. It's contributed key animation services to JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind, Seven Deadly Sins, Gintama, Tokyo Ghoul:re, Record of Grancrest War, Overlord and One Piece. It's even directed multiple episodes of Merc Storia: The Apathetic Boy and the Girl in a Bottle.
On top of working on high profile anime projects, D'ART Shtajio has released several in-house productions, which highlight their unique infusion of Western and Eastern culture. These projects include Sturgill Simpson Presents Sound and Fury, a Netflix original anime anthology set to Sturgill Simpson's SOUND & FURY album, as well as anime shorts like "Indigo Ignited."
Arthell himself also created a pilot for a potential anime, Xogenasys, based on the manga written by NBA star Johnny O’Bryant, drawn by Nikolas A. Draper-Ivey, and originally written by Tre McIntosh. The synopsis reads as such:
“The future has grown into a decadent, overcrowded gang-ridden cesspool. If you’re not living uptown, you might as well be dead. Such is the case of Darius Smith, an artistic youth living in the hood, doing his best to avoid trouble and live life. Unfortunately, Darius has a hidden talent – he’s an explosive fighter! This makes him the target of many gangs and pits him in many brawls, landing him in the sight of the honorable Timothy Mustafa, a powerful prince, and owner of one of the most successful XOGeneSYS teams in the country. XOGenaSYS is a successful gladiator sport fought with powered exoskeletons, and Mustafa wants Darius to become the next new fighter! Can Darius become the next champion or will he fall like so many before him?”
While its pilot was released in 2018 at Anime Expo, Xogenasys has not been picked up for a full series as of yet. Its production serves as a major mission for D'ART Shtajio, in order to add visible diversity to the medium of anime. Regardless of it does or doesn't, D'ART Shtajio has made an undeniable mark on the medium
Japan's First Black-Owned Anime Studio Should Be on Every Fan's Radar
Japan's first major anime studio created by Black animators should be on every fan's radar. In fact, you might've already seen its work.
- BY ANTHONY GRAMUGLIA
- 6 HOURS AGO
Many anime fans are not aware of how the industry has evolved to encompass a greater scope of diverse animators contributing to the medium of Japanese anime. One such example is D'ART Shtajio, a 2-D animation studio situated in Tokyo founded by 32-year-old animator Henry Thurlow, background artist Arthell Isom and his twin brother Darnell. The three created a studio that would infuse American sensibilities in with Japanese anime, and ended up working on some fairly huge anime projects. The Isom twins are both Black men, making D'Art Shtajio one of the first major anime studios founded by Black men.
D'Art Shtajio's Foundation
Before founding D'ART Shtajio in 2016, Arthell Isom worked with animation studio Ogura Kobo as a background animator on Bleach, Gintama, Black Butler, Lupin III: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine and Naruto -- to name just a few of his iconic credits. He worked primarily alongside his mentor Hiromasa Ogura, best known as the background animator on Ninja Scroll and Ghost in the Shell.
Henry Thurlow worked with Nakamura Production as an In-Between Animator on Pokémon Origins and Gundam Build Fighters, while also working with Pierrot Animation Room on multiple Tokyo Ghoul series as both an in-netween animator and key animator. In an interview with Japan Times, Thurlow exposed his frustration working as an animator without having his creative input taken seriously -- or even being credited. "Back then I was drawing for Gundam and Pokémon, but my name was never mentioned and I was literally making $4 a day.”
The two formed a collaborative team employing multiple foreign animators to work on major Japanese animation productions. Foreign animators, according to industry insiders close to Tadashi Sudo (former CEO of Anime! Anime!), roughly five percent of animators working in anime are foreign to Japan. Sudo continued, "The number of non-Japanese (in Japan) is increasing, not only on production work, but also on anime planning, management as producers, and handling rights sales and public relations.”
In regards to his success, in an interview with SyFy Wire, Isom said, "The great thing is with us being here, Black creators seek us out. It's a great opportunity to work with them. We've worked with quite a few like independent manga creators with projects like Tephlon Funk and XOGENASYS; we get the opportunity to then tell more Black stories. These are storytellers who want to see their story adapted to anime form."
Their Portfolio
D'ART Shtajio has worked on multiple high profile projects since its inception. While it has worked on Western projects such as Castlevania Season 3, D'ART has, due to its incredible work ethic and high quality product, worked on many huge anime. It's contributed key animation services to JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind, Seven Deadly Sins, Gintama, Tokyo Ghoul:re, Record of Grancrest War, Overlord and One Piece. It's even directed multiple episodes of Merc Storia: The Apathetic Boy and the Girl in a Bottle.
On top of working on high profile anime projects, D'ART Shtajio has released several in-house productions, which highlight their unique infusion of Western and Eastern culture. These projects include Sturgill Simpson Presents Sound and Fury, a Netflix original anime anthology set to Sturgill Simpson's SOUND & FURY album, as well as anime shorts like "Indigo Ignited."
Arthell himself also created a pilot for a potential anime, Xogenasys, based on the manga written by NBA star Johnny O’Bryant, drawn by Nikolas A. Draper-Ivey, and originally written by Tre McIntosh. The synopsis reads as such:
“The future has grown into a decadent, overcrowded gang-ridden cesspool. If you’re not living uptown, you might as well be dead. Such is the case of Darius Smith, an artistic youth living in the hood, doing his best to avoid trouble and live life. Unfortunately, Darius has a hidden talent – he’s an explosive fighter! This makes him the target of many gangs and pits him in many brawls, landing him in the sight of the honorable Timothy Mustafa, a powerful prince, and owner of one of the most successful XOGeneSYS teams in the country. XOGenaSYS is a successful gladiator sport fought with powered exoskeletons, and Mustafa wants Darius to become the next new fighter! Can Darius become the next champion or will he fall like so many before him?”
While its pilot was released in 2018 at Anime Expo, Xogenasys has not been picked up for a full series as of yet. Its production serves as a major mission for D'ART Shtajio, in order to add visible diversity to the medium of anime. Regardless of it does or doesn't, D'ART Shtajio has made an undeniable mark on the medium
Japan's First Black-Owned Anime Studio Should Be on Every Fan's Radar
