Renowned for its visual storytelling in series such as Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, Delicious in Dungeon, and Darling in the FRANXX, Studio TRIGGER continues to push the boundaries of modern anime. Anime Trending had the privilege of welcoming and interviewing producer and head of story Hiromi Wakabayashi, character designer and chief animation director Ichigo Kanno, and animation director Kazuki Chiba at Otakon 2026, held from July 31 to August 2, 2026. The convention marked Chiba and Kanno’s first US appearance, and the trio sat down to share their Otakon experiences, their journey with Studio TRIGGER, and their work on past and upcoming productions.
This interview was conducted via an interpreter and has been edited for clarity.
Welcome to your first US convention! How has your experience been at Otakon, and is there anything specific that’s stood out to you this weekend?
Kazuki Chiba: One thing that stood out for me is that the reactions of American fans are very expressive. When I was at our panel, the welcoming reactions made it easy for me to speak on stage.
Ichigo Kanno: Something that really struck me as being really cool was how unique people’s attire and cosplay were. In general, I think people have a really free way of expressing themselves through their outfits.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 features a different look from the first series. What was the character design philosophy for this sequel?
Ichigo Kanno: This was something the director and the assistant director talked about, but I wanted to take after that in terms of what kind of philosophy we were going for. The first season’s theme was around living strongly in Night City, which is generally an unfriendly place, and for [Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2], I think there’s a different concept. To express that different concept, there’s going to be a different aesthetic to it.
What was the reception like when you all mentioned Hiroyuki Imaishi’s new project at the panel on Friday, and what are you looking forward to sharing with fans as well?
Hiromi Wakabayashi: It was around the first week of July that we put the information out, but then the reaction to it was almost instantaneous. The information that was given was basically the fact that Imaishi-san and Kazuki Nakashima-san are going to be working on this. There was no title, no genre — we didn’t have clear visuals. Just the information that these two people are going to be working on it; I had responses from all over the world.
It’s a great motivator to think that people around the world are willing to see what kinds of things these two people are working on, and that they’d give us so much of a reaction just from this information alone.
What is the most memorable feedback or advice you’ve received as key animators and animation directors?
Ichigo Kanno: I received a lot of suggestions from the director during the pre-production and brush-up stages about how we should approach the character design. From the animation supervisor’s side, there actually wasn’t too much input.
I’d say most of the advice came from [Kai] Ikarashi-san’s ideas, and I would then think about what kinds of expressions the characters would have within this world. By drawing these characters over and over again, I was able to develop a deeper understanding of who they were and how they should look.
Kazuki Chiba: It’s a similar story for me as well. As the ending director and animator, I was given the task of creating the ED sequence, but they didn’t really tell me what kind of work they wanted me to aim for. They just said, “Do as you like,” which actually made it a little more difficult because I had to use my own judgment. But Ikarashi-san was very receptive to how everything turned out.
One of the challenges, I guess, was figuring out each of the characters, and that’s where a lot of the direction came from. I was able to talk with Ikarashi-san and deepen my understanding of each character.
Both of you joined Studio TRIGGER around 2017, having worked on projects like Darling in the FRANXX, PROMARE, and Delicious in Dungeon. With your 10-year anniversary at the studio approaching soon, how do you feel you have grown as creators, and what makes working at TRIGGER special to you?
Kazuki Chiba: I personally think that when I first joined TRIGGER, I didn’t really understand what my strengths and weaknesses were, or even what I wanted to do. But as the years went by, I gradually figured out what my goals were and what I was good at. That was a really valuable learning experience for me.
Ichigo Kanno: I have a background in doing personal work and creating things on my own time, but through working with other people, I’ve come to learn a lot. Over those ten years, I’ve worked on things like character design and keyframe animation, and by taking on those different roles and collaborating with others, I came to understand how much my interactions with other people have shaped me.
Special thanks to Studio TRIGGER for the interview opportunity.
Questions by Isabelle Lee and Melvyn Tan. Interview conducted by Kwok-Wai Hanson.
