The official Japanese YouTube channel for Amazon Prime Video released a captivating video this past Friday. This video showcases the upcoming Tatsuki Fujimoto 17-26 anthology anime series. The video is a compilation of clips from each of the eight shorts featured in the anthology, running for exactly 17 minutes and 26 seconds, a nod to the series’ title.
The anthology series features a diverse range of stories, each with its unique cast and staff. Hereโs a brief overview of the titles and their stories:
Title: A Couple Clucking Chickens Were Still Kickin’ in the Schoolyard
Story: This tale delves into the bond between two survivors in a post-apocalyptic world.
Title: Sasaki Stopped a Bullet
Story: This story explores the intense emotions and challenges of adolescence.
Title: Love is Blind
Story: A sci-fi romantic comedy that takes love to a cosmic level.
Title: Shikaku
Story: A twisted love story centered around an unhinged assassin girl.
Title: Mermaid Rhapsody
Story: A heartwarming romance between a boy and a mermaid, with an underwater piano at its core.
Title: Woke-Up-as-a-Girl Syndrome
Story: A journey of self-discovery beyond traditional gender norms.
Title: Nayuta of the Prophecy
Story: The tale of siblings bound by a harsh destiny.
Title: Sisters
Story: A narrative about the rivalry, conflict, and growth between artistically inclined sisters.
The anime had its world premiere on October 5 during the Global Stage Hollywood Film Festival 2025 at the TCL Chinese 6 Theatre in Hollywood. It also had a limited two-week theater screening run in nine cinemas throughout Japan starting on October 17. The eight-episode anime is divided into two parts, each containing four episodes. The first part includes A Couple Clucking Chickens Were Still Kickin’ in the Schoolyard, Sasaki Stopped a Bullet, Love is Blind, and Shikaku. The second part features Mermaid Rhapsody, Woke-Up-as-a-Girl Syndrome, Nayuta of the Prophecy, and Sisters.
Additionally, there is a two-week screening run in South Korea starting on Friday at MEGABOX theaters. Two titles from the series, A Couple Clucking Chickens Were Still Kickin’ in the Schoolyard and Shikaku, are nominated in the Short Film category of the Bucheon International Animation Festival. The nominated titles will screen during the festival on Saturday.
Viz Media licensed both the Tatsuki Fujimoto Before Chainsaw Man: 17-21 and Tatsuki Fujimoto Before Chainsaw Man: 22-26 manga collections. The former was released in January 2023, and the latter in April 2023. Shueisha published the first and second compiled book volumes in Japan in October and November 2021, respectively.
Tatsuki Fujimoto, known for Fire Punch, debuted the Chainsaw Man manga in Weekly Shonen Jump in December 2018. The manga’s first part, the Kลan (Public Safety) arc, concluded in December 2020. The second part, titled Gakkล-hen (School Arc), began on Shueisha’s Shonen Jump+ service in July 2022. The manga has won the Best Manga award at The Harvey Awards for three consecutive years.
The manga inspired a television anime that premiered on TV Tokyo and five other affiliated channels, as well as on Amazon Prime Video in October 2022. Crunchyroll is streaming the anime in over 200 countries and territories around the world. The Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc opened in Japan on September 19. Sony Pictures Entertainment opened the film in theaters in the U.S. and Canada on Friday, several days prior to its originally scheduled October 29 release, with early screenings for Crunchyroll members on Wednesday.
The film adaptation of Fujimoto’s “Look Back” one-shot manga opened in theaters in Japan in June 2024. GKIDS screened the film in October 2024 in North America. The film won the award for Best Animation of the Year at the 34th Annual Japan Movie Critics Award in April.
News Source: Animenewsnetwork.com
