Directed by Yoriaki Mochizuki, the 10-minute piece from Intertrend Communications marks the final chapter in the car company’s GRIP series and the brand’s first-ever anime film.
Multi-cultural creative agency Intertrend Communications has just shared with AWN a peek into the production of their fourth and final installment of Toyota's award-winning anime brand campaign, titled, , which premiered yesterday and you can watch below.Directed by Yoriaki Mochizuki (), the 10-minute film is the brand’s first-ever anime short film.
Production on all four of the campaign’s shorts, or “seasons,” has been mostly continuous since work began back in 2023.The campaign was originally created by Intertrend alongside Executive Producer Frank Mele, who calls the final film a “high-octane anime adventure that combines heart-pounding action with a battle between the human spirit and computer control.” The campaign was designed to reimagine how an automotive brand could engage emerging demographics and fandom communities; through a 360-degree activation strategy spanning programmatic out-of-home takeovers, pop-culture events like Anime Impulse Universe and Formula Drift, and custom partnerships with Spotify and Japanese girl group ATARASHII GAKKO!, the campaign, which has so far generated more than 300 million impressions, has successfully reinforced Toyota’s position as a cultural innovator.Set in a near-future world dominated by AI-powered self-driving cars, follows a team of passionate drivers as they fight to preserve humanity’s love for driving against a villain determined to erase it forever.
Amid the battle, a son seeks to reconnect with his father, a daughter rekindles a lost bond, and a forgotten moment is rediscovered - reminding viewers that it’s human connection, not technology, that truly drives us forward.Enjoy the final film, then read below about the production: Mochizuki began the project with assets provided by Intertrend.“The agency supplied materials from the previous seasons,” the director tells AWN.
“The theme of this final chapter of is to explore how technology can enrich the human experience.I co-wrote the screenplay with Executive Producer Frank Mele and Intertrend’s Executive Director of Strategy/Creative Matthew Choy.To dramatize the theme, we centered on a father and son story with the protagonist Jae and his late father.
We also collaborated with DR Movie, the studio that animated the previous seasons.We were a well-oiled production team, ready to hit the ground … driving!” According to Mele, the look and tone of was established based on the shorts from previous seasons, which allowed the team to dive into and play with the nuances.“Yori brought a fresh perspective to the production as our new director,” he shares.
“In previous seasons, we were focused on 60-second episodes, which is a fun format to work in, but has its limitations.We were grateful that Toyota listened to what the audience wanted, which was a longer format for the story to really breathe.Having 10 minutes to complete our story allowed us to structure it as a day in the life, and in that 24-hour cycle, we moved through a full range of looks and tones that allowed us to get creative with those subtleties.” While previous seasons were set either in “the golden hour” or nighttime, on the final film, Mochizuki wanted to showcase the world in a full range of lighting.
He notes, “The movie starts at golden hour, then it progresses through night with the final race taking place in the new daytime lighting before the movie ends at another golden hour.I wanted to give the finale a sense of coming full circle.” “The tone of the previous seasons was exciting with dynamic car action, and I wanted to complement that with a more emotional tone,” Mochizuki continues.“I was inspired by my personal experience of having lost my father and becoming a father myself.
Jae’s longing for connection with his late father resonated with me, and I could also relate to his father’s wish to pass on lessons to his son through technology.I also love comedy and wanted to add a bit of character-based humor, showing fans the side of characters that they haven’t seen before.” Challenges on the film included fine-tuning vehicle action and visualizing character emotions.“It was important for us to capture the car movement with accuracy and excitement, so we explored many ways to create the race through writing, storyboarding, previsualization, animation and sound design,” Mochizuki says.
“We also paid great attention to the characters’ facial expressions and acting.Every nuance of the character animation was brought to life by the hands of talented artists.Our international production embodies the movie’s theme that technology can support human technique, but it can never replace our feelings and love.” Noting that Toyota’s Gazoo Racing brand is about performance and energy, Mele adds, “It's a brand for car enthusiasts, and it should be produced with that same passion in how the story is told and the visuals are designed.
Bringing dynamic camera motion to anime can be challenging when it also involves moving vehicles.Since season one, we have always brought a hybrid approach to our creation pipeline, combining the specificity of commercial filmmaking with the detail and authenticity of anime.So, we designed our action sequences with great detail and exploration through previsualization, as if we were going to shoot those scenes in live-action.
The process allowed us the time and freedom to explore the driving sequences, the car dynamics, and how to best cover it in a way that was both accurate to the Toyota vehicles and as exciting as possible.”
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
Toyotathon’s CG ‘The Journey’ Spot Delivers a Holiday Message
Ntropic Cleans Up for Toyota
Therapy Creates Interactive Campaign for Toyota
Gentleman Scholar Brings Toyota RAV4 to LA LIVE
Stardust Drives VFX for Toyota Promo
Hornet + Blinkink Collaborate for Toyota
Digital Domain Gets Real for Toyota
