Atsushi Nishigori has spent much of his career working on tightly planned anime productions, but his upcoming original anthology film GROTESQQQUE gave him an opportunity unlike any before.
The acclaimed director, known for his work on DARLING in the FRANXX and contributions to the Evangelion franchise, says the CloverWorks project became a deeply personal creative outlet that allowed him to step outside the boundaries of conventional production.
In a written interview with OtakuKart, Nishigori explained that the project felt like a reward after years of creating structured productions. The original anime anthology is scheduled to premiere in Japanese theaters on November 6, 2026, featuring three standalone stories connected through a shared creative vision while embracing completely different artistic styles.
Nishigori calls GROTESQQQUE his “little dessert”
Unlike many original anime projects that begin with a long-developed concept, GROTESQQQUE started when CloverWorks approached Nishigori with an invitation to create a new film. According to the director, that changed the way he approached the production from the very beginning.
“So far, I’ve always been working on robot stories where everything was already well structured,”
Nishigori said in the written interview provided to OtakuKart.
“This project… was centered much more around doing something that I personally wanted to create. I had far more freedom. It felt like my own little treat—my little dessert—where I could finally make what I truly wanted.”
The comment reflects a notable shift from productions like Evangelion, where he explained that established budgets and carefully planned story structures shaped the creative process. With GROTESQQQUE, Nishigori instead focused on exploring his own ideas without those same creative limitations.
A different identity for every story
That freedom is evident throughout the anthology’s structure. GROTESQQQUE consists of three stories—Aliens, Yoroshiku★Shoujo, and Nocturne: On This Grotesque Night—each featuring its own visual style, cast, and emotional tone while remaining part of a single project.
Nishigori also revealed that he intentionally wanted audiences to feel as though each chapter came from an entirely different animation studio. Rather than repeating the same artistic approach, every episode features its own character designs, background artwork, and presentation to keep viewers engaged throughout the anthology.
Music became another major creative focus during production. Instead of building scenes around existing songs, Nishigori explained that the animation was completed first before the team worked closely with musicians to find tracks that matched each sequence’s emotional rhythm. He highlighted the ending of Nocturne as one of the most challenging sections, with multiple songs being evaluated to achieve the right balance between hopeful and melancholic emotions.
According to information released by CloverWorks, the anthology also features music from more than 35 artists, including METALVERSE, ASCA, Reol, TAKU INOUE, and several others.
