The industry keeps experimenting with absurd combinations that end up working perfectly. During the busy activities of the recent Anime Expo, director Norihiro Naganuma took the stage to officially announce Jurassic Shadows (known in Japan as Ryugesho no Shinobi). This peculiar original anime project released its first promotional video and concept art, presenting a truly strange premise: dinosaurs never went extinct, but survived by crossing their DNA with humanity until reaching the year 2029 in a Tokyo where they now devour people from the shadows of society.

For this urban carnage, animation will fall entirely on studio Cannon Code, operating under funding from the production committee formed by Slow Curve and Avex Pictures Inc. Naganuma’s direction will be supported by the sharp scripts of Kenta Ihara, while Yukiko Nakatani will tackle the complex task of adapting for television the insane character designs originally conceived by Yōichi Amano, all wrapped in music by Shūhei Mutsuki. And as if the animated gamble wasn’t enough, giant publisher Kodansha has already confirmed it will publish a manga adaptation in the coming months to solidly build this new franchise.

Makeup and prehistoric skills in the modern era

Our species’ survival in this universe doesn’t depend on conventional armies or firearms. Against the imminent threat of these prehistoric hybrids, a secret order of ninjas rises with an extremely unusual technique: the Ryugesho. This special pigment, imbued with memories of the ancient world, acts as a lethal catalyst. By applying it as makeup on their own skin, the warriors awaken the instincts and brute power of the dinosaurs that lie dormant, balancing the scales in a bloody battle over which race deserves to inherit the top of the food chain.

With a premise that seems taken straight from the most experimental era of the 1990s, do you think this fusion of ninjas, makeup, and prehistoric reptiles will capture attention in such a saturated market?