On October 5th, 2025, the anime anthology Tatsuki Fujimoto 17-26 was shown on the big screen ahead of its world premiere. As a part of the Global Stage Hollywood event, the adaptation of eight of Fujimoto’s early works was shown at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles, California, with special guests Seishiro Nagaya, the director of A Couple Clucking Chickens Were Still Kickin’ in the Schoolyard, Nobuyuki Takeuchi, the director of Love is Blind, and Avex Pictures producer Ryo Oyama. This anthology gave fans an opportunity to see Fujimoto’s early works before Chainsaw Man, a rarity in the anime sphere. I was curious to see what his early works were like, and I was not the only one.
As soon as I walked into the theater, I could feel the excitement and support from the fans who were there to see the series. The theater was packed with people, either cosplaying as characters from Chainsaw Man and clutching merchandise from Fujimoto’s previous works or supporting Fujimoto and the special guests who helped make the anthology happen. In fact, it was so full that some people had to stand on the side of the theater, showing how much support Fujimoto has in California.
The screening featured eight one-shots from Fujimoto’s early years as a mangaka, which include A Couple Clucking Chickens Were Still Kickin’ in the Schoolyard and Love is Blind. Like many others, this was my first time seeing Fujimoto’s early works. Only one sentence popped into my head as I watched the film: “This is weird.” Although I enjoyed a couple of the one-shots, I had a hard time describing my thoughts on his early works. They’re weird and at times cringy, but in a good and funny way. Despite my first impression of the series, it was interesting to see how Fujimoto started his career. I know that I might not be the only one with similar thoughts, because I could tell everyone in the theater enjoyed watching the eight one-shots. I heard lots of laughter and cheering throughout the screening.
The directors and producer even commented on how thrilled and appreciative they were of the fans who watched and enjoyed the series. During the talk session, the directors and producer discussed how the anthology series came to be, from its production process to when they saw the series for the first time on screen. In fact, they were asked what the story was behind pitching this project, and we found out that it wasn’t directly pitched to Fujimoto-sensei. Instead, Oyama “started talking to [Fujimoto’s] publisher” about making this series. When it was pitched, Oyama said that most of them were actually very surprised and that “Fujimoto-sensei would be embarrassed.” Fujimoto admitted that he was going “through trial and error” when working on the one-shots. It wasn’t until the directors were introduced that “Fujimoto finally entrusted the directors [with his one-shots] and had complete confidence in them.” Ultimately, everyone was grateful that Oyama pitched the project.
Some questions were directed at the two directors about the adaptation process and the key points they focused on when adapting their episodes. Since each one-shot is unique, it was interesting to hear how they were adapted. Nagaya answered that he “paid attention to the character movement,” especially with the aliens living similarly to humans. He “was hoping to move them like humans so the audience can relate to the aliens like themselves.” Meanwhile, Takeuchi stated that he “focused on everything” and said that “the details were very important” to him during the confession scene.
After the talk, there was a short Q&A session where the audience could ask the guests questions about the series before the guests delivered their final message and took a group photo to celebrate the world premiere.
Tatsuki Fujimoto: 17-26 is now available exclusively on Prime Video.