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Ryoma Kawamura, an anime producer at WIT Studio, has called out the lack of promotional efforts by streaming giant Netflix for the studio’s upcoming original anime Moonrise.
In a recent post on X, Kawamura addressed the issue without naming anyone explicitly, noting that the anime was still buried and urged them to increase visibility for the project.
Fans online quickly deduced the “Red ‘N’ company” reference pointed to the streaming giant Netflix, the platform set to distribute Moonrise.
“Please, I’m begging you—promote it properly! I can’t do this alone! Seriously, I’m asking you!! It’s still completely buried. Red ‘N’ company!! It’s time to show your power to the world!” he wrote.
Moonrise, an 18-episode original science-fiction anime was first announced in 2018. It was in active production since at least 2022.
However, it received minimal marketing from its distributor despite the involvement from high-profile staff including creator Tow Ubukata (Psycho Pass S2 & S3), director Masashi Koizuka (Attack on Titan Seasons 2 & 3), and even FMAB Manga author Hiromu Arakawa as original character designer.
The anime also boasts the involvement of action animators Yasuyuki Ibara and Takuma Ebisu who were also associated with Attack on Titan.
The perceived lack of promotion reportedly extended to the creation of marketing materials. In a separate post on X, Kawamura revealed that WIT Studio produced a promotional video (PV) for Moonrise themselves, an unusual step for an animation studio.
“This time, we created the PV at WIT STUDIO for the first time!! Together with Yasuhiro Akamatsu, we had no idea what we were doing at first, but we managed to get it done by asking lots of people along the way! People who produce multiple PVs a year within limited runtimes and tight schedules are seriously amazing,” Kawamura wrote while promoting the PV on his post.
Typically, promotional materials like trailers are handled by the distributor or rights holder, which possesses dedicated marketing departments, not the production studio itself.
Moonrise anime will start streaming on Netflix starting April 10. Till now, only two promotional videos for the anime have been released, with Netflix seemingly not promoting the show enough.
In addition to the stellar staff, the anime will also feature Chiaki Kobayashi in a lead role.
The anime has reportedly received positive reviews from its advance screening in Japan.
Source: X via Reddit.
