Anime streaming service Crunchyroll announced today that it has produced and will air a brand-new, four-part documentary series about one of Japan’s most renowned animation studios. The series – Bones 25: Dreaming Forward – will begin streaming on Crunchyroll on February 13, timed with the release of the series Metallic Rouge, produced by Studio BONES.
Bones 25: Dreaming Forward consists of four 24-minute documentary episodes about the prolific studio behind anime hits Cowboy Bebop: Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door, My Hero Academia, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, and more.
Bones 25: Dreaming Forward is produced by Crunchyroll and French production company DeltaRocket. DeltaRocket’s Jace directed the series and has helmed more than 40 documentaries for French television, including Canal+, Arte, M6, and TCM.
“Studio BONES is behind some of the most iconic anime of a generation,” said Asa Suehira, Chief Content Officer at Crunchyroll. “It’s only fitting that anime fans will want to have an unprecedented look inside their creators and studios.
Suehira added: “To give fans that look, we’ve partnered with a great documentary storyteller in DeltaRocket to turn the camera around and spotlight one of Japan’s great anime storytellers.”
Masahiko Minami, President of BONES, described the studio by saying, “We wanted to build a place where we could find new forms of expression, new genres, and new themes through creation. Looking back, it was with great joy and gratitude that I rediscovered the works we have been creating with our wonderful friends.”
Bones 25: Dreaming Forward explores the creation of Studio BONES and its most legendary series. From its high-quality adaptation of beloved manga series to unique and original animated stories, this anime storyteller’s history has enthralled fans of the long-standing studio.
The series was shot entirely in Japan and includes four parts – “The History of Bones,” “Style and Originality,” “Successful Adaptation,” and “Metallic Rouge: The Future of Bones.”
More than 30 personalities are featured throughout the episodes, including Masahiko Minami (President), ONE (the author of Mob Psycho 100), Shinichiro Watanabe (Director), Kafka Asagiri (Creator), and Yutaka Izubuchi (Conceptual Author and Series Composition of Metallic Rouge), and Motonobu Hori of (Director of Metallic Rouge).
DeltaRocket was founded by Jace in 2021. Prior to DeltaRocket, he frequently traveled and filmed in Japan for more than 20 years for several documentary films. He knows and respects Japanese culture.
A devotee of manga and anime, his team works directly with cameramen, cinematographers, translators, and fixers installed in Japan in order to create high-quality programs from his home in France.
There are more than 30 series and specials on Crunchyroll from Studio BONES, including Bungo Stray Dogs, The Case Study of Vanitas, Eureka Seven, and SK8 the Infinity, with more coming to Crunchyroll very soon.
Mirko Parlevliet has been reporting on the entertainment industry since 1998 and founded Vital Thrills to provide the latest news on streaming, movies, and TV shows. He previously created the websites ComingSoon, SuperHeroHype, and ShockTillYouDrop.