Production I.G Announces a New TV Animation Series

REAL DRIVE
(original title: RD Sennō Chōsashitsu)

A New Collaborative Project by
Production I.G and Shirow Masamune
〜Premiering in Japan April 2008 on NTV〜

INTRODUCTION
After the world-hit "Ghost in the Shell" animation franchise and following the highly anticipated "Ghost Hound", Production I.G and manga artist Shirow Masamune collaborate once more in creating the world of REAL DRIVE!

This brand-new neo-futuristic SF suspense animation TV series will be directed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi of "Le Chevalier D'Eon" fame, while the screenplay is entrusted to Junichi Fujisaku, director of "Blood+" and scriptwriter for many episodes of the "Ghost in the Shell S.A.C." series. Manga artist Tetsuro Ueyama ("Metal Guardian Faust") is in charge for the character designs.

REAL DRIVE is is co-produced by the first and largest Japanese commercial broadcaster, Nippon Television Network Corporation (NTV), and will premiere in Japan on NTV April 2008.

OVERVIEW
2061 AD. Fifty years have passed since mankind developed the Network society. It was anticipated that this new infrastructure would realize a utopia where people connected with each other at the level of consciousness. However, new social problems such as personal data leaks and proliferation of manipulated information began to surface.

Nevertheless, people still relied on the Network to exchange information, and proved unable to opt to abandon it.

In due course, a new Network realm with more effective security measures was developed. This was called Meta Real Network, usually abbreviated as "the Metal."

The Metal accommodated personal memory data within protected virtual stand-alone organic cyber enclaves called bubble shells and eventually pervaded the everyday lives of people.

However, people gradually learned to release and explode their instincts within the secure environment of the Metal. The unleashed instincts pushed each individual's consciousness to drown in the sea of information and to be exposed to the pressures of desire. Meanwhile, norms and regulations continued to bind their real world lives. Thus, strange friction between the two worlds began to manifest themselves as aberrations beyond the bounds of the imaginable.

Experts who challenged the deep sea of the Metal to investigate and decipher such aberrations were called cyber divers.

This is a story of a cyber diver, Masamichi Haru, who investigates the incidents that lie between Reality and the Metal.

STAFF Original Story: Production I.G / Shirow Masamune
In collaboration with: CROSSROAD
Director: Kazuhiro Furuhashi (Le Chevalier D'Eon)
Series Composition: Junichi Fujisaku (Blood+)
Character Design: Tetsuro Ueyama (Metal Guardian Faust)
Animation Production: Production I.G

OFFICIAL WEBSITE (Japanese)
http://www.NTV.co.jp/RD/

OFFICIAL WEBSITE (English)
http://www.production-ig.com

ABOUT PRODUCTION I.G
Established by Mitsuhisa Ishikawa in 1987, Production I.G is one of the world's leading animation studios. With its cutting-Edge Works, such as Ghost in the Shell (1995), Jin-Roh (2000), Blood: The Last Vampire (2000), Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (animation segment, 2003) and Innocence (2004), I.G has gained high reputation around the globe, inspiring Hollywood creators such as James Cameron, Quentin Tarantino and the Wachowski brothers. In 2007, I.G celebrates the 20th anniversary from its foundation.

ABOUT NIPPON TELEVISION NETWORK CORPORATION
Established in 1952, Nippon Television Network Corporation (NTV) is the first commercial broadcaster to launch in Japan with 29 affiliate stations throughout Japan and 11 overseas news bureaus. NTV, as a broadcaster, produces highly acclaimed programs with its in-house production/technical teams for the terrestrial and satellite channels, and uses its diverse multi-media functions for merchandising, DVDs, live events, Internet business, international TV distribution and others.