- October 19, 2026
- Updated: October 19, 2026 at 12:36 PM
Tom Cruise is in Japan with Alejandro González Iñárritu to promote Digger. Taking the opportunity, the actor has decided to visit one of the country’s best-known and beloved anime studios, MAPPA. Known for making anime like Jujutsu Kaisen or Chainsaw Man, Cruise has had the chance to get an in-depth look at how anime is produced. And he came away smitten.
A medium that’s far more labor-intensive than it looks
In a video shared by the studio itself, the actor seems very interested in the process, where they explain how an episode can take between two and three months to be produced. Iñárritu, who was also there, asked how many people were involved in the production of each episode, and they gave a figure that would surprise even many anime fans: between 100 and 200 people.
The most surprising thing is that Tom Cruise came away very interested in the process. In his own words, “when I come back, we should meet up, and talk about films. Next time I come I want a longer tour. I want to go, and watch the artists draw, see how people draw. I want to do it! Visit you and see the art! I love seeing how it’s created”. And while this doesn’t mean he’s going to get involved in the creation of any anime in the future, it does seem to have convinced the actor that anime is more interesting than he thought.
Cultural journalist and writer with a special interest in audiovisuals and everything that can be played. I’m not here to talk about my books, but you can always ask me about them if you’re curious.
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