"20th Century Boys" author Naoki Urasawa to work on Cartier anime

On September 18th, manga artist Naoki Urasawa, known for works such as "YAWARA!" and "20th Century Boys," appeared at the opening event of the Ginza 4-chome boutique (Chuo-ku, Tokyo) of French luxury jewelry brand Cartier.

Urasawa served as creative partner for the anime "LA PANTHÈRE DE CARTIER," which was produced around the theme of Cartier's symbol, the panther (leopard). When asked what thoughts he had when drawing the panther, he reflected, "It was a fairly long-term project, and I was first approached in 2022. Since they offered me the role, I thought they wanted my essence, so I submitted it in the form of 'this is how it would turn out for me,' without thinking too much about it being Cartier."

Panther revealed, "I tried to make sure that the flexibility and elegance of the body was beautifully portrayed," and when asked, "Were you able to embody that?" he replied, "I can draw pretty well, so I think I did a good job (laughs)," drawing laughter from those around him.

"LA PANTHÈRE DE CARTIER" is animated by Production IG, the studio behind the "Ghost in the Shell" series and "Haikyu!!," and features voice actors Mitsuki Takahata, Kaya Kiyohara, Tomoko Yamaguchi, and Ken Watanabe. The ending theme song was composed by Fumitake Ezaki, with lyrics by Miu Sakamoto.