2017 celebrates 100 years of Japanese animation, and NHK is celebrating it with a bang. This is because they are making a live-action TV show about the early days of anime, and it will star Chihayafuru’s Suzu Hirose. Titled “Natsuzora,” NHK will air the series from April-September 2019.

This new TV series will take a look at how anime started out in Japan after World War II. The story will follow Hirose as a girl living in rural Hokkaido, where she becomes interested in animation. Because of this, she decides to move to Tokyo to find work in Japan’s budding animation industry.

The TV series about the rise of anime follows a nine-year-old girl named Natsu Okuhara. After losing both parents and getting separated from her siblings during World War II, Takeo Shibata, a dairy farmer, takes her in. And while in elementary, she meets a boy named Tenyou Yamada, who is an excellent artist. He introduces her to cartoons, and this leaves an impression on the young Natsu. Tenyou then tells her that he dreams of moving to Tokyo to study art. Because of this, she also begins thinking about her own future as well. And after a few years, Natsu decides to go to Tokyo and pursue a career in Animation.

According to NHK, the live-action series will have 156 episodes, with various directors working on the series.

Source: NHK official