Fool Night Main Trailer and Key Art Debut — SUNRISE×SHAFT Collab Streams Nov 26

Netflix just put the full spotlight on Fool Night, and I am locked in. The streamer debuted the main trailer and key art for this dystopian drama, and the pitch alone is enough to keep me thinking about it for days.

First SUNRISE and SHAFT collaboration

This is the first time SUNRISE and SHAFT are sharing an animation-production credit. SUNRISE brings that big-franchise muscle (Cowboy Bebop, Gundam), while SHAFT brings the sharp, idiosyncratic framing fans know from Madoka Magica and the Monogatari series. Director Atsushi Yukawa, series composition by Jin Tanaka, and character designs by Robert Sato sit at the center of the staff. Music is by Tatsuya Kato.

Themes and the Transfloration world

The story is set in a future where thick clouds choke the sky and vegetation has mostly died. Oxygen is scarce, so a process called Transfloration plants seeds in people near death and turns them into living plants that feed the air. Toshiro Kamiya walks into Transflora Medical ready for that fate, runs into childhood friend Yomiko Horai, and ends up able to hear the voices of Spiriflora — humans already transformed. A murder case involving a Spiriflor then pulls him deeper than anyone planned.

Opening theme is Tempalay's "Shake! spit out"; ending theme is Nowlu's "iki." The series is based on Kasumi Yasuda's manga in Big Comic Superior (Shogakukan).

Worldwide on Netflix November 26

All episodes start streaming worldwide on November 26, only on Netflix. The title page is at netflix.com/foolnight, and Netflix's full press write-up is here.

I am marking the date. A SUNRISE×SHAFT human drama about becoming a flower for the rest of the world? That is exactly the kind of strange, heavy premise I want from late-year anime.