Toyota is bravely merging into the anime production lane. Variety reports that the Japanese carmaker has produced a new anime series titled GRIP, centered on a brave hero who is taking on the evil of soulless automated driving. The five-episode show will be released weekly beginning Feb. 26 on Toyota.com/grip.
The show is produced for Toyota by Intertrend, which is a Long Beach-based marketing agency. The animated series centers on the car brand’s Gazoo Racing motorsport division and its current roster of cars to appeal to a Gen-Z and young Asian-American audience. “GRIP is the perfect conduit for this audience, leveraging a storytelling platform that wasn’t the usual, expected ad campaign,” says director of strategy and creative Matthew Choy. “This series is not just for anime lovers and nerds, but also for anyone interested in watching a thrilling story unfold.”
According to Choy, classic anime titles like Initial D inspired the idea of using anime to promote Toyota’s cars. “Anime allows for larger-than-life portraits of both cars and people and helps amp up the thrill and excitement of driving,” he told Variety. He said GRIP will also provide a special look at custom cars in an alternate, animated universe.
Created by Intertrend, GRIP’s is executive produced by Frank Mele and directed by Jae Woo Kim (Blood of Zeus, TRON: Uprising, Ben 10 Omniverse). You can check out the five-part anime series at toyota.com/grip.
Watch the first episode below:
Source: variety.com