Veteran anime producer at J.C.Staff, Yuji Matsukura, recently doubted whether Japan could make a Tom & Jerry in this day and age. He was speaking in an online seminar for the Kochi Anime Creator Award 2026, where he shared his biggest influences growing up.
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“I really loved Tom & Jerry when I was a kid,” Matsukura said, praising its absence of dialogue, “classical” feeling, and adding, “Well, there’s a story, but it shows how you can make it fun to watch with just movement and music, even if the story is simple… That sort of thing—I guess you might say it’s definitely impossible to make in today’s Japan, huh? I think its expressive power, while having no dialogue, is tremendous. Of course, I wasn’t thinking about any of this when I was watching it as a child, but I really like Tom and Jerry; being able to do something like that, well, I think of it as one kind of ideal form.“
Matsukura says that animation isn’t very interesting when it’s solely cool images or solely good music. The unification of both is what makes good animation. He also praised Tom and Jerry‘s timelessness. He participated in the seminar alongside producers Yuka Numakoshi and Junichi Katsutani, both of Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions. It featured discussions about their influences and tips for anime planning and producing. It was also revealed that Matsukura and Numakoshi are developing a new anime.
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Matsukura is known for being one of the most prolific producers in the anime industry, participating in several major titles like Revolutionary Girl Utena, Shakugan no Shana, The Familiar of Zero, Toradora!, A Certain Magical Index, Nodame Cantabile, Hayate the Combat Butler!, Honey and Clover, Prison School, Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma, and Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?.
Source: Kochi Anime Creator Award Online Seminar (form to view)
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