'Real Drive' accelerates

Masamune, Production I.G. pair on cartoon

By MARK SCHILLING

Toon house Production I.G. and manga icon Shirow Masamune, creator of the smash "Ghost in the Shell" franchise, are collaborating on an animated TV series, "Real Drive," Production I.G. announced on Monday.

Futuristic sci-fi toon will be helmed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi ("Le Chevalier d'Eon") and scripted by Junichi Fujisaku ("Ghost in the Shell S.A.C."), based on an original story by Masamune. Character designs will be handled by manga artist Tetsuro Ueyama ("Metal Guardian Faust").

The NTV network will air it in April.

"Real Drive" is set in 2061, when a super-secure network has become the cyberspace where people can safely release their pent-up emotions. But bizarre aberrations result, impacting their real lives. The story centers on an investigator of these aberrations.