"Director Masaaki Yuasa (Kaiba, Mind Game, The Tatami Galaxy) announced on Monday that he and Production I.G are running a Kickstarter fundraising program for Kick-Heart, a 2D animated short that will be about 10 minutes long.


The program's page describes the story: Kick-Heart is a love story between Romeo, a successful pro-wrestler, and Juliet, a nun who lives a secret double-life as a female pro-wrestler. Romeo's secret is that he enjoys taking a beating in the ring, while Juliet feels invigorated when facing her opponents as a wrestler. When the two meet in the ring, the fireworks fly. Their story is set in the colorful backdrop of the professional wrestling world. Will Juliet reveal her true identity to the one she loves? Will Romeo be able to share his secret to the world? The project lists Mamoru Oshii as a project consultant. Animator Michio Mihara is designing the characters, and Eunyoung Choi is the color key artist. Kevin Aymeric is handling the backgrounds. The project aims to raise US$150,000 by October 31 at 12:00 a.m. EDT." From ANN
The Kickstarter fund-raising page

This is particular important as for the first time, a Japanese anime director and company will raise funds from the public, rather than corporate investors. It is a game-changing move and might even give fans a lot more say in how anime are produced in the future.