Jaden and Willow Smith are expanding into the anime business via a partnership with studio N LITE, a Black-owned media company and anime studio based in the U.S. and Tokyo, to produce and voice roles in upcoming films.
Jaden has signed on to executive produce and voice a role in Mfinda, which is in preproduction. The film, an epic fantasy inspired by Congolese folklore, hails from N LITE, producer-distributor powerhouse GKIDS (Boy and the Heron), Viola Davis and Julius Tennon’s JuVee Productions and legendary anime producer Masao Maruyama (Tokyo Godfathers). It is being touted as the first anime film created by a Black and Japanese team of producers and animators.
N LITE founder and CEO Christiano Terry shared that Jaden will play the character of Kozo, an ancient spirit warrior who protects humans and spirits of the forest during a time of great conflict in the Kingdom of Kongo.
Jaden is not a stranger to anime, however. He previously voiced the main character in the anime series Neo Yokio for Netflix in 2017.
“When I met Christiano, saw the artwork for Mfinda and learned more about the story, I was blown away,” Jaden said. “A lot of people have asked when I’d get back into anime, I knew immediately this was it. I’m honored to work with N LITE and the legendary producer Masao Maruyama to bring this film to life.”
Willow Smith, meanwhile, has signed on to another film from N LITE’s slate, the horror/thiller Webe: Spirit Detective. The Grammy-nominated singer and actress joins as executive producer and voice talent on the anime film, which is inspired by Gullah Geechee folklore.
Webe: Spirit Detective, created by Terry, is co-written by Terry and Bram Stoker- and Shirley Jackson Award-winning Southern Gothic author Eden Royce. The anime film follows an amateur sleuth with a penchant for the paranormal, who travels to the deep south to solve a string of murders that have awakened a vengeful Boo Hag spirit seeking justice.
“To me, Webe is more than an anime, it is a story about reconnecting with mystical ancestry and the power in discovering your roots and your tribe,” Willow said. “It is the type of film that I want to be a part of, and I’m excited to be doing this with N LITE.”
Webe: Spirit Detective is currently in development and is being produced by Studio N LITE in Tokyo. Kibwe Tavarez (Jonah, The Kitchen) is attached as co-director, and Oscar-winning director Peter Ramsey (Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse) and acclaimed horror manga artist Gigi Murakami are attached as executive producers. Additional Japanese production partners will be announced soon.
“We are honored to collaborate with Jaden and Willow,” Terry said. “They are pillars of this generation and talented storytellers at the zeitgeist of culture, art, fashion, music and cinema. I can’t wait for the world to see what we have in store.”
Last month, Jaden was announced as the first men’s creative director for Christian Louboutin and is set to show his first designs during men’s fashion week in Paris in January. He also released 2025: A Surrealist Ball or Elephants Reflecting Swans, a three-song project that included the single “Red Cloaks.”
Willow recently joined the cast of Slime, described as an anime-inspired pre-apocalyptic sci-fi monster film. Also in the cast are Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi, Teyana Taylor, Anna Sawai, John Cho and John Boyega.
Mfinda (left) and Webe: Spirit Detective
Courtesy of N LITE