Originally covered on Anime Motivation years back (the article was lost among others), The Glassworker is an anime movie that has been in the making for a while.
It’s not something that has only been announced as of late.
Mano Animation Studios is the one behind it, which was co-founded by Usman Riaz, a Pakistani animator and artist.
Given the fact anime shows outside of Japan don’t get covered even by “the most trusted news source” ANN, or Crunchyroll, it’s unsurprising why the coverage for many so-called “underground” anime is lacking.
The latest trailer for “The Glassworker”
The first 2 minutes of this trailer features an English voice cast in a British accent, mainly a southern London style accent. Which is what the world is used to hearing as far as British accents are concerned.
As this is happening, you see two of the character casts hanging out by the beach drawing something in the sand that symbolizes a spirit, and what looks like the magic involved in this anime movie and its story.
Aesthetically, The Glassworker is closer to something like GHIBLI style than it is your average anime movie.
Synopsis:
“‘Young Vincent and his father, Tomas, run the finest glass workshop in the country and find their lives upended by an impending war in which they want no part. The arrival in their town of an army colonel and his young, talented violinist daughter, Alliz, shakes their reality and tests the relationship between father and son.”
Image gallery:
English voice cast:
- Art Malik.
- Sacha Dhawan.
- Anjli Mohindra.
- Tony Jayawardena.
- Teresa Gallagher.
- Maya Soraya.
- Sham Ali.
- Mina Anwar.
Co-founder: Uzman Rias
Timeline of the anime movie “The Glassworker”
- Kickstarter campaign launched in February 2016, raising $116,000 for the pilot.
- The pilot completed in 2018, garnering acclaim from Wired, Konbini, and Vice.
- Screenplay by Moya O’Shea, based on Usman Riaz’s original story.
- Mano Animation Studios built animation infrastructure from scratch.
- Pre-production involved studying Pakistani and South Asian cultures for authenticity.
- Animation style inspired by Japanese and Western studios.
Production timeline:
- Full-scale production began in January 2019.
- Storyboards were completed during the COVID-19 pandemic in October 2020.
- Some animation and background art are outsourced to studios in Korea, the Philippines, Lithuania, and Thailand.
- Sound post-production finalized in Spain.
- English and Urdu dialogues were recorded separately.
Video timeline for The Glassworker:
March 22nd 2018:
May 2nd 2022:
Jun 21st 2022:
July 12th 2022:
Follow Mano Animation Studio’s progress on social media:
- https://www.facebook.com/manoanimationstudios
- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2Pq6Hpdsl3ino8-F4Ht5sw
- https://www.instagram.com/manoanimationstudios/
- https://twitter.com/manostudios
- https://www.linkedin.com/company/mano-animation-studios/
SOURCE: Direct email contact.
