The TV anime Sakugan (サクガン) started streaming a new promotional video that previews the worldview and main character voices. It is also confirmed to premiere in October 2021.
The anime series is an adaptation of the novel “Sakugan Labyrinth Marker”, written by Nekotarō Inui, which was submitted to Project Anima, a 2018 collaboration between DeNA, Sotsu, and Bunka Housou that accepted story submissions from the general public. The novel was the runner-up in the “Science-Fiction/Robot” category. The anime was originally scheduled to premiere in 2020, but was delayed.
▍Synopsis
The distant future, long after the Western calendar is no longer used.
Humans live shoulder-to-shoulder, cramped in the “Labyrinth,” an underground world deep below the surface.
There are many colonies where people live in the underground Labyrinth. The place is known for extreme high temperatures, but also for lodes of gold, silver, and other riches.
In one of the colonies named Pin-in, a curious nine-year-old girl named Memenpu and her father Gagamba board a two-person work robot and mine for ore. They make a living as the lowest of lowest “Worker” occupations.
One day, Memenpu begs her father Gagamba to set out as Markers — those who chart the innards of the Labyrinth as a spelunker — to search for her mother who left their home.
If they encounter a “mysterious giant creature” lurking in the caves, the survival rate is less than 5%. Since discovering an unknown world is dangerous work, “maps” hold great value in the world of Labyrinth and fetch high prices on the market.
A Marker is the most dangerous, but also the most lucrative, job.
Gagamba decides he cannot hold back the ever-curious Memenpu from going off on her own countless times, and finally gives in. The two embark on a journey together in the work robot.
However, the “cost” of curiosity …
The “truth” they finally uncovered …
▍Staff and Production
Original Works: Nekotarō Inui’s “Sakugan Labyrinth Marker” [Everystar]
Director & Series Composition: Jun’ichi Wada
Scenario: Shingo Nagai, Mariko Mochizuki, Toshizo Nemoto
Character Design: Jun Nakai
Original Character Design: Yuji Iwahara
Character Design: Shunpei Mochizuki
Concept Design: Kazuma Kōda
Kaiju Design: Shoji Kawamori (vector vision)
Mechanical Design: Stanislas Brunet (Studio No Border)
Kaiju & Mechanical Design: Hiroyuki Taiga
Prop Design: Takehiro Ishimoto, Kenichi Morioka
Art Setting: Ryū Sakamoto (Big Studio)
Art Director: Minoru Ōnishi (Big Studio)
Color Design: Michio Hasegawa (Hiwa)
Director of Photography: Gō Shimura (T2studio)
Assistant Director: Tenpei Mishio
Editing: Shūji Matsumoto
3D CG Director: Hiroyuki Goto
2D Works: Rinko Nakamura
Sound Director: Eriko Kimura
Sound Production: Tohokushinsha Film Corporation
Music: Tatsuya Kato
Music Production: Lantis
Animation: Satellite
▍Cast
■ Memenpu – CV: Kanon Amane
■ Gagamba – CV: Hiroki Tōchi
■ Zackletu – CV: Kana Hanazawa
■ Yuri – CV: Toshiyuki Toyonaga
■ Melо̄lo – CV: Yoshimasa Hosoya
■ DJ K – CV: Hiroshi Kamiya
■ Mūro – CV: Misaki Watada
■ Boss – CV: Tsuyoshi Koyama
■ Linda – CV: Minami Tsuda
■ Rufus – CV: Hikaru Midorikawa