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We went along to a special screening of "MECHA-UDE," which was produced by the Fukuoka-based animation company TriF Studio! A talk also took place during the event to provide the audience with some extra insight into the anime. "MECHA-UDE" is a project that began life as an illustration created by director, character designer, and story planner OKAMOTO. Also, "MECHA-UDE" welcomed Hiroshi Matsuyama, CEO of the Fukuoka-based gaming company CyberConnect2 Co., Ltd., on board as a chief supervisor. The project includes an array of talented singer-songwriter Eve (charged with creating the opening theme song “Ambivalent”) and voice artists including Tomokazu Sugita, Toshiyuki Toyonaga, Romi Park, and Kaito Ishikawa! This much-anticipated work has been generating a great deal of interest and excitement all over the world!

The first public screening in Kyushu of the 26-minute pilot took place during the opening section of the event. The exciting story gets the viewer to use their imagination and open up their minds. The audience gave the opening installment a huge round of applause. Their excitement was clear to see! Voice artists Romi Park (who plays Jun Kagami), OKAMOTO, and Matsuyama then joined Mafia Kajita (the event MC) on stage to talk about the project.

Kajita is really good friends with Sugita, who provides the voice for "MECHA-UDE" Arma (the mechanical organ that attaches to the protagonist of the story Hikaru). Kajita wanted to find-out how his good pal ended up in the role of Arma. OKAMOTO, the director of the work, said that she thought Sugita had the ability to accurately portray the character. She stressed "MECHA-UDE is mechanical, but I still think it is important to inject some kind of humanity into the story. I wanted one of the main characters in the anime, MECHA-UDE Arma, to display the most easily recognizable human qualities." Sugita and Yuichi Nakamura, known as the "magnetic duo," generated a lot of interest from the crowd. There was huge cheers when the topic turned to the characters they portray (brothers Arma and Fist). We can't wait to see how these two will interact with each other in the anime! It is super exciting!

It became clear why Kitakyushu was used a model for "Kitakagami-City," which is where the story takes place. The plot revolves around the excavation for a specific "thing," amidst a steampunk inspired landscape that is home to abandoned factories. The production team thought Kitakyushu City, an area with strong links to coal mining, fit the brief perfectly!

Matsuyama mentioned that the secrets, which had been revealed were not from the first, but the fourth episode! Director Okamoto also unveiled some other secrets that got the audience excited! Various images were selected from the 12 episode image board plan for the end credits. The segment even features footage of unpublished characters!

Park spoke about Senbutsu Caves and Munakata Taisha. The latter is a set of shrines that venerates the three Munakata Goddesses. Park told the crowd, "The shrines in Kyushu are super interesting!" This topic really got the crowd excited! Park is known for her portrayals of male characters. People often think of her as a cool, collected individual because of the roles she plays, so it was a nice surprise to see her in such a cheerful mood when she spoke about her passion for shrines! Seeing this aspect of her character was so wonderful!

The production team drew on their wonderful sense of creativity to help create a fantastic "MECHA-UDE" stage! They were looking to get the audience excited about the series and stimulate everyone's imagination! Their aim is to complete the series and share it with the rest of the world! Check-out their official website and Twitter account to find-out the project develops!

Here is a collection of asianbeat's features on Fukuoka Prefecture's shrines and temples for anyone feeling inspired after hearing Park's talk!