On Sept. 25, after a weekend of incredible events from South Korea, India, the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America, fans finally got a first look at the exciting series and films coming out of Japan. With five distinct celebrations, Tudum: A Netflix Global Fan Event included first-look photos, never-before-seen footage, new trailers, behind-the-scenes access, celebrity appearances, interviews and more from over 100 of your favorite series, films and specials. Every show had its highlights, but Tudum Japan was the only one with a live event for fans, held in Tokyo at the same time as the broadcast — in other words, it’s true what they say about saving the best for last.
The show kicked off with a series of first looks and exclusive trailers from the wide and wonderful anime genre, kicked off by host Ayane Sakura and a special performance by musician Hiroyuki Sawano. Tudum Japan gave fans a peek at over 25 now-streaming and upcoming anime titles, including an exciting character art reveal for the new series Onmyoji, never-before-seen stills from Junji Ito Maniac, a brand-new trailer for Moonrise, debut art for My Daemon, a cast announcement for Make My Day, a first look at the trailer of Exception ahead of its Oct. 13 premiere and so, so much more.
Following the anime segment of Tudum Japan was the live-action segment, which was a mix of both pretaped and live panels in Tokyo happening at the same time as the event. Highlights included a visit from Alice in Borderland Season 2 stars Kento Yamazaki and Tao Tsuchiya, who joined fans onstage for the surprise date announcement, as well as Nana Mori and Natsuki Deguchi, who showed up to meet fans and present their new series The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House.
Fans got a glimpse at a clip from the series, which explores the world of geisha, maiko courtesans and culture in Kyoto. Also rounding out the live segment of the show was an appearance by the cast of First Love, a new series inspired by the music of J-pop sensation Hikaru Utada; the artist has written songs for dozens of films and series in the past, but First Love is the first scripted series created as a direct tribute to her music.
It may seem like a shocking amount of new content to pack into one show, but even after the major anime announcements and live-action segment, there was still more in the lineup. Tudum Japan also hosted multi-title panels highlighting the impressive breadth of stories from around the world. The panels included cast members from Stranger Things, Emily in Paris and two South Korean series, Business Proposal and The Sound of Magic, who discussed their favorite love stories. There was also a panel of creatives, filmmakers and showrunners, like Lauren Schmidt Hissrich (The Witcher), Guillermo del Toro (Pinocchio), Shinsuke Sato (Alice in Borderland) and Hirokazu Kore-eda (The Makanai), who discussed what really goes into creating provocative programming for an international audience.
That’s a wrap on Tudum Japan, and that was just a few of the highlights. There’s so much more in store in the actual show, and if you missed it have no fear: You can watch the entire event here.
