Anime
Goodbye, Lara: OP was made with real cels and film
IMAGICA explains in detail for the first time how five analog shots of the opening were developed, exposed, scanned and digitally processed.
The opening of “Goodbye, Lara” contains five shots that were actually produced with hand-painted cels and analog film. A conversation with director Takushi Koide and staff from IMAGICA Entertainment Media Services, published on September 18, now describes in detail how this unusual production chain was implemented.
According to Anime!Anime!, the analog passages drew attention as soon as they were shown via the series' official X account. For the five shots, IMAGICA handled, among other things, negative development, 4K scanning, color grading and online editing. The company says that such film development for an anime production was the first in more than ten years.
Analog film meets digital post-production
The production did not stop at adding a film look to digital images after the fact. The drawings were transferred onto transparent cels and colored, then physically recorded onto film and developed. The material was then scanned in 4K and further edited digitally.
Because film with a sensitivity of ISO 100 is no longer available, the team had to adjust the exposure to the material available today. In addition, negative, positive and Imatone positive materials were compared. According to IMAGICA, the tests were meant to ensure that the characteristic analog drawing was preserved without unnecessarily losing image information during scanning and color correction.
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The official opening is available on the verified KADOKAWAanime channel. There, the combination of softly looking cel passages and handwritten credits can also be seen. The opening uses the song “Sayonara Lara” by Ikimonogakari.
“Goodbye, Lara” is an original series by Kinema Citrus and has been airing on Japanese television since July 2026. Koide is directing a TV series for the first time. Kinema Citrus also produces “Made in Abyss”; most recently, aninew.de reported on the new trailer for the upcoming film series.