We’ve all dreamt of moving to Japan to make anime, but how does the anime industry actually work? And how can Western animators successfully collaborate with Japanese makers? In this session, CGI Artist Masaya Inaba (All you need is kill, ChaO) shares his experience working in Japan and abroad. Join him on his fascinating journey from engineering to entertainment and get a glimpse behind the scenes of the anime studios. 
Masaya Inaba is a Japanese animation CGI artist and director with over a decade of experience, known for integrating CG, hand-drawn animation, and background art on complex, story-critical scenes in feature anime productions. 
Still curious how anime works? Long time anime fan Florian Walraven will take you through his career of analyzing anime, making anime parodies and working on anime recaps. Anime aesthetics is an ever-growing phenomenon in the industry, but it also has a rich history worth exploring. As an outsider of the anime industry, Florian shares his journey on how anime can inspire, teach, and even build careers. 
Florian Walraven, HKU animation graduate of 2014, co-founded the animation Studio Pegbarians (2013) and is currently active as animator/writer/director for Studio Pikeman. Clients have included Frame Order, Vanoss Gaming, MSD, Submarine, Supercell, Mashed and Cas van de Pol.
Moderator: Anna Eijsbout

This program screened as part of Kaboom Animation Festival 2026