MAPPA chose its own 15th anniversary to drop a
bombshell: Beat & Motion, Naoki Fujita's manga
that was literally born from a reality show, will have an exclusive Netflix
anime adaptation in 2027. The announcement came during
the studio's anniversary livestream, with a visual teaser, first trailer, full
crew, and two cast members confirmed in one go.
The first trailer and visual teaser offer the
first look at the world and characters of the story, which follows Tatsuhiko,
who uploads an animation to the internet that goes viral unexpectedly. His
favorite musician, Nico, contacts him to collaborate on the music
video for one of his songs. In their first meeting, Tatsuhiko discovers to his
surprise that he recognizes Nico from a night that changed everything for him.
The voice cast
- Shuichiro
Umeda as Tatsuhiko (Akira
Tendo in Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead and Kazuhiko
Nukumizu in Too Many Losing Heroines!).
- Aya
Gomazuru as Nico (Seiyuu
with recent work in productions such as LIAR GAME, without
a massively iconic role yet within the anime).
The Production Team
The direction is in charge of Yuki
Komada, with Misaki Morie in charge of the composition of
the series and the scripts. The character design and lead animation direction
are by Kazunori Aoki, together with Mina Osawa. The
sound direction is by Yasushi Nagura, with sound production
by dugout.
About Beat & Motion
Beat & Motion is a manga by Naoki Fujita that
won the reality show MILLION TAG in August 2021. As a grand
prize, the winner received serialization in Shonen Jump+, a cash
prize, a collected volume, and an anime adaptation with a global premiere and
exclusive on Netflix, a rare prize package that shows how much the organization
bet on this project from the beginning. The manga was published between
February 2023 and March 2025, concluding in six volumes. Viz Media and MANGA
Plus distribute it in English.
