Kenji Eno Documentary to Debut in December

A documentary on the life of legendary game designer Kenji Eno is set for a December release, the group producing it announced.

Archipel said on social media last week that the documentary it’s been working on all year will debut at its first physical show, Archipel Caravan, at the Institut Franco-Japonais Tokyo in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Dec. 15 through 17.

For those who won’t be in Japan at the time, the group said that the Eno documentary will be available online sometime this year.

Archipel has been making documentaries about the people who work on video games for eight years. All of them are available to watch for free on their YouTube channel.

In February, they released a teaser trailer for a documentary on Eno to mark the 10th anniversary since his death.

Archipel’s video description says they’ve gathered testimonials from Eno’s friends, colleagues and family to “commemorate this brilliant mind of Japan’s game industry.”

Eno wrote and directed memorable horror adventure games D and Enemy Zero on the Sega Saturn, not to mention D2 on the Dreamcast. His vision for the games pushed them to new heights in realistic graphics and shocking content.

SHIRO!’s own Peter Malek wrote extensively about Eno and D in 2019.

Eno also designed the unique audio-only adventure game Real Sound: Kaze no Regret on the Saturn.

Archipel Caravan won’t just be about the documentary — it’s a “celebration of Japan’s pop culture centered around its creators” that will feature talks about video game luminaries like Shinji Mikami and Hideki Kamiya, masterclasses with manga and animation artists, and live performances from musicians like Saori Kobayashi — one of the composers of Panzer Dragoon Saga and Orta — and Takenobu Mitsuyoshi — the singer heard on soundtracks like Daytona USA and the Japanese version of Burning Rangers, among many other titles.

For those who will be in Tokyo next month, tickets can be purchased now.