One of the biggest movie stars in the world just got a close look at how anime is made. Tom Cruise and director Alejandro G. Iñárritu stopped by the MAPPA EXPO 15th Anniversary exhibition in Tokyo while they were in Japan promoting their new film Digger, and MAPPA has now shared a video of the visit that shows Cruise asking plenty of questions about the studio's work.
MAPPA first announced the visit last week (October 9th), with a few photos from the exhibition floor and a note thanking both of them for coming:
The post explains that the pair enjoyed a range of exhibits during their visit and also sat down for a talk with MAPPA animator Tadashi Hiramatsu. The full video of the tour and conversation went up on MAPPA's official YouTube channel on Wednesday (October 14th).
Cruise At The Jujutsu Kaisen Exhibits
The part of the video that has fans talking happens in the Jujutsu Kaisen area, where the exhibition breaks key fights down scene by scene, with original key animation shown next to the footage. Displays for fights like Nanami vs. Mahito and Satoru Gojo vs. Miguel can be seen in the background.
Cruise is clearly having fun, pointing at the drawings and picking out details. "Look at the style," he says while studying the art, also pointing out the eye and the movement of the hair before adding, "I know, it's so good."
He then turns to Hiramatsu with a simple question: "How long do you take for an episode?" Hiramatsu answers in Japanese that, all in all, it comes to around two or three months. He explains that the stretch after the animators come in is a little shorter, but once you count preparing the storyboards and everything else, it works out to about two to three months. An on-screen note in the video points out that the timeline changes depending on the title.
Cruise also asks how much of the work is still done by hand. Hiramatsu says it depends on the person, but things have become quite digital. He adds that he grew up drawing with paper and pencil, so for him it is still about half and half.
A Gift For The Digger Team
The visit ended with a surprise. According to MAPPA, Hiramatsu drew Digger illustrations as gifts for Cruise and Iñárritu. In the video, he explains that drawing them took about a day, while coming up with the ideas after watching the film took several days. He also says he enjoyed Digger so much that he asked to see it a second time.
The conversation covered plenty of ground beyond Jujutsu Kaisen too, including how carefully Digger was planned with storyboards before shooting, and how close live-action filmmaking and animation have become. The tour also took the pair to the Attack on Titan area, where a large display recreates the final spectacle of the series.
Where To See MAPPA EXPO
Cruise and Iñárritu were in Japan for the Digger promotional tour from October 5th to 7th, which included the film's Japan premiere on October 6th. Digger opened in Japanese theaters on October 9th.
Fans who want to see the same exhibits can still visit. MAPPA EXPO 15th Anniversary runs at Yurakucho Museum in Tokyo until December 7th, and MAPPA has confirmed it will move to the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum from January to March 2027, with more details due later this month.
You can watch MAPPA's full video of the visit below:
Would you rather see Tom Cruise take on a voice role in a MAPPA anime, or would you prefer the studio adapt one of his movies into anime instead?
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