Among Anime Expo’s many honored guests was legendary Final Fantasy artist Yoshitaka Amano. But Amano, a well-known artist for the seminal anime films Angel’s Egg and Vampire Hunter D, wasn’t at Anime Expo to reminisce about the past. Amano was in Los Angeles to debut the world premiere of the trailer for his upcoming anime from his newly minted U.S.-based production company, Yoshitaka Amano Inc. Based on his 2010 art book Deva ZAN (which Dark Horse Manga announced is getting a second edition in March/April 2027), ZAN is a dark fantasy epic set during Japan’s Sengoku (or “Warring States”) period. It follows its eponymous warrior as he engages in a fierce battle at Azuchi Castle. With the help of the mysterious voice of a young girl named Uzume, ZAN crosses beyond space and time into a realm where they battle powerful beasts, known as Tropes, and their ruler, RIKKA. Along his journey, ZAN wrestles with his sense of justice as he and Uzume trek with his mechanical familiar, Panther. The anime itself wastes no time signposting that the journey ahead of ZAN and company will be brought to life entirely through hand-drawn animation, “line by line, by human hands.” Living up to ZAN‘s producer note that “the studio does not create the animation. Creators DO,” Amano assembled a team of equally laudable anime titans to bring ZAN to life.