As Toei Animation celebrates its 70th anniversary in 2026, the company today announced the global festival debut of ETERNA Animation, its original animation production brand dedicated to discovering and nurturing emerging creative voices, through its inaugural short film, FOXING: Kitsuné-tsuki.
Launching its international festival journey, the film has received official selections at multiple prestigious North American film festivals. Among the first announced selections are the Satoshi Kon Award for Excellence in Animation at the Fantasia International Film Festival at the Fantasia International Film Festival, the Official Selection at the Academy Award®-qualifying Indy Shorts Film Festival, Presented by Heartland Film, and the Official Selection of the Regina International Film Festival & Awards (RIFFA). Additional festival selections will be announced separately in accordance with each festival’s official announcement schedule.
Directed by Takeru Shinozuka, whose credits include character design work on Digimon Ghost Game and key animation on ONE PIECE FAN LETTER, FOXING: Kitsuné-tsuki marks both his directorial debut and ETERNA Animation’s first global release, introducing the brand to international audiences through the festival circuit.
The animated short follows Shinano, a 26-year-old animator whose fading sense of purpose is challenged by Koyami, a mischievous fox-masked figure born from her own sketches. As imagination and reality begin to blur, she is forced to confront the dreams, possibilities, and identities she believed she had left behind.
“FOXING represents exactly the kind of original voice ETERNA Animation was created to support,” said Yoshihide Moriyama, Producer of FOXING: Kitsuné-tsuki. “As Toei Animation celebrates its 70th anniversary, we are proud to introduce a new generation of creators to audiences around the world through ETERNA Animation. We are honored that Takeru Shinozuka’s directorial debut is beginning its journey on the international festival stage.”
Source: Press Release
