Leading European animation studio TeamTO and award-winning U.S. animation studio Martian Blueberry announced a creative collaboration on Junichiro Jackson (also known as JJ), TeamTO’s first original adult anime-inspired series under its recently announced TeamTOKO label.
The psychological thriller serves as the launch title for a broader creative and strategic alliance between the two studios, with a teaser trailer and special presentation set for this year’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival. JJ marks a major expansion for the Paris-based independent studio as TeamTO enters the rapidly growing global market for premium adult animation.
Currently in development, Junichiro Jackson is planned as a 30-minute, 10-part serialised adult 2D psychological thriller blending neo-noir mystery, action, anime- inspired visuals, and music-driven storytelling within a stylised near-future world. The series reflects a growing wave of globally minded adult animation that fuses anime aesthetics, music culture, and prestige television storytelling into bold, creator-driven originals.
Set in a technologically saturated and socially fractured New York City, the series follows private investigator JJ as he confronts both literal demons and his own inner darkness after a seemingly routine case uncovers a conspiracy threatening to unravel the city itself.
The teaser trailer for JJ, co-directed by acclaimed animation filmmakers Slimane Aniss and Havtza, will premiere during TeamTO’s Studio Focus presentation, Come Fly with TeamTO, at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on 23 June at 2:45 PM at the Imperial Palace. TeamTO producers Marco Balsamo and Tara Sibel Demren will appear on stage alongside Martian Blueberry founders Carl and Love Jones to discuss the project and unveil exclusive first- look footage from the series.
“At its core, JJ is about identity, isolation, and the emotional cost of living in an increasingly disconnected world. What inspired us to create this project was the opportunity to explore the grey areas of deeply complex characters within a fractured society that feels increasingly reflective of the world around us,” said Balsamo and Demren.
Following Annecy, JJ will make its North American debut with a special teaser screening at Dream Con in Houston, Texas, during the Martian Blueberry’s From Boondocks to Martian Blueberry panel. Audiences will receive an exclusive early look at the series alongside a live performance by acclaimed hip-hop group Coast Contra, who also contribute original music to the project.
“Partnering with TeamTO is about pushing animation culture forward through fearless creativity, diverse voices, and experimental storytelling to create something meaningful, impactful, and unlike anything audiences have seen before,” Martian Blueberry co-founders Carl Jones and Love Jones. “JJ is the kind of project that reminds us why we started Martian Blueberry in the first place. We love anime and music-driven worlds that exist outside the traditional boundaries of Hollywood, stories shaped by different cultures, perspectives, and lived experiences.”
JJ is the first project announced under the expanding creative and strategic collaboration between TeamTO and Martian Blueberry, with additional projects currently in development between the two studios.
