Maru

Kaiju Decode: The Ring of Aidara is an upcoming computer-graphics (CG) anime made by two famous Japanese studios working together. One is Tsuburaya Productions, the company behind the Ultraman heroes and many classic giant-monster shows. The other is Toei Animation. The word "kaiju" means giant monster in Japanese, and this series puts those monsters at the center of a hopeful science fiction story. As of its announcement, no exact premiere date or number of episodes had been shared, and listings place its start in 2027. The show belongs to a larger project called KAIJU DECODE. The two companies built this project around one simple idea: a story about a kaiju and a girl. Earlier parts of the project include a short anime released in 2021, a virtual reality (VR) anime called KAIJU DECODE -first contact-, and a mixed reality game. The Ring of Aidara is the newest and biggest step in that project. The story takes place in the year 2070, in Sakai City in Osaka, Japan. Years before, a supernova (the huge explosion of a dying star) sent several space stations falling down onto Earth. People call this event the Skyfall Disaster. It caused terrible damage. After it, strange bacteria from space began to change normal matter into brand new forms of life. These creatures are called Super-Limit Beings. To stay safe, humans closed off the land where the creatures live and named it the Zone. Next to it, they built the City, a high-tech society where people no longer have to worry about the limits of their bodies, their minds, distance, or even time. The two heroes come from these two very different worlds. Maru is a kind boy who lives a calm life in the City. He has a strong sense of justice and wants to do the right thing. Coco is a girl from the Aidara tribe. Her people live out in the dangerous Zone, side by side with the kaiju instead of hiding from them. When Maru and Coco meet, each of them has to face a way of life they never understood. The story asks a big question: can people from two divided worlds find a way to live together? Aya Yamane voices Maru, and Karin Takahashi voices Coco. Katsuie Shibata wrote the screenplay. Masayuki Goto of Tsuburaya Productions designed the monsters, which connects the series to the studio's long history of creature design. Two different artists designed the leads: Sei Nakashima drew Maru, and Masatsugu Saito drew Coco. Kouichi Noguchi is one of the producers. Before release, the team shared a special video that shows giant kaiju fighting in the streets of Sakai City. It gives a first look at the CG style and the size of the monster battles. With its mix of action, a lost-world setting, and a gentle story about understanding others, the series looks set to appeal both to longtime monster fans and to viewers who simply enjoy a good science fiction adventure.