ACT3, together with Keikyu Corporation, has created a new character, "Mollo."

Working with Keikyu from the earliest stages of concept development, ACT3 was responsible for the character design and the story. Mollo is built around a simple narrative: a character self-conscious about only being able to travel under 20 km/h comes to realize that moving slowly is exactly what lets him find the lovely things in his town, and begins to move through the world with new energy.

An original picture book (story book), "Mollo's Picture Book: The Slow Bus Adventure," has been in distribution since Thursday, August 6, 2026, with the story written by ACT3 co-representative Keiya Ando.

Read the Keikyu press release →

ACT3 co-representatives Keiya Ando and Chikara Nishigaki will serve as lecturers for the third session of "Future Design Special Lecture Series: The Traveling 'Undiscovered' Classroom 2026," a public lecture series hosted by Shinshu University.

The theme is "How to Craft Hollywood-Style Stories That Move People's Emotions — Storytelling Skills Every Executive Needs." Drawing on Hollywood screenwriting techniques, the session will share storytelling skills that move people, aimed at executives and business leaders.

Date: Saturday, August 8, 2026, 15:30–18:00　Venue: Thesaurus, Gondo, Nagano

Lecture details & registration →

Our 3D CG short animation "See You Tomorrow." was featured in a special section of CGWORLD vol.335 (the July 2026 issue, released June 10), a leading magazine for the film and visual production industry.

Following its awards at international film festivals overseas, this marked an opportunity for the project to also be covered by specialist film-industry media in Japan.

Read the CGWORLD article →

ACT3, in partnership with AMARENA Inc. (Minato-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Hiroyuki Ueno), has launched the "Writers' Room Lab," an initiative aimed at bringing collaborative story-building into wider social practice.

The Lab serves as a hub for practice, research, and talent development dedicated to establishing the "writers' room" culture — in which multiple screenwriters collaborate on a single script — within Japan's film, drama, and animation industries. Its goals include fostering a culture of collaborative screenwriting, researching and developing showrunner-type talent, and building a development structure geared toward international markets such as Cannes, Berlin, and TIFFCOM.

Founding members include ACT3 co-representatives Keiya Ando and Chikara Nishigaki, along with a number of screenwriters, directors, and producers.

Read the related article →

ACT3 co-representatives Keiya Ando and Chikara Nishigaki, at the request of Mori Building's TOKYO NODE (Toranomon Hills Station Tower, Minato-ku, Tokyo), led an experience-design workshop for an exhibition held at the venue.

Takataro Ishizawa of the TOKYO NODE management office, who was tackling the challenge of broadening the exhibition's visitor base, took note of the three-act structure used in film storytelling and commissioned ACT3 to lead the workshop. This initiative — applying Hollywood screenwriting theory to the design of an exhibition experience — was featured in the "Inside" series of Nikkei Cross Trend.

Read the Nikkei Cross Trend article →

Our 3D CG animated work "See You Tomorrow." has won the Grand Prix at two international film festivals: Global Stage Hollywood in Hollywood, USA, and ANIMAZE, an international animation festival in Canada.

We will continue to believe in the power of storytelling as we bring new work to audiences around the world.

ACT3 co-representatives Keiya Ando and Chikara Nishigaki will serve as lecturers for a hands-on "Hollywood-Style Storytelling Course," hosted by the "Rakuen Shinshu" Relocation Promotion Innovation Council — a body organized by Nagano Prefecture together with municipalities and private organizations across the prefecture.

The council has repeatedly highlighted the importance of reframing everyday regional life as story, and this course will teach Hollywood-style story structure to local government staff and others working to promote relocation and tourism in their communities.

The first session focuses on learning the fundamentals of story structure through film, while the second is a hands-on workshop for crafting stories that support relocation promotion.

Schedule: Session 1 — Wed, Oct 29, 2025, 14:00–17:00 / Session 2 — Wed, Nov 12, 2025, 14:00–17:00. Venue: Agatanomori Bunka Kaikan, Matsumoto City, Nagano.