U-NEXT Kids presents the new crafting program “Nice to Meet You: Moving Crafts,” where everything “moves.” Now available. Collaborating with digital technology to develop the foundation for thinking skills
U-NEXT Co., Ltd. Press release: September 12, 2025 To Members of the Press U-NEXT Kids presents the new craft program “Moving Crafts: Nice to Meet You,” where everything “moves.” Collaborating with digital technology to foster the foundation of thinking skills
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(Headquarters: Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Tenshin Tsutsumi), a member of the USEN & U-NEXT GROUP, will begin streaming the U-NEXT Kids original program “Movable Crafts: Nice to Meet You” on Friday, September 12, 2025. Directed by former Euphrates member Masaya Ishikawa (now with Cog), this is a new crafts program in which everything “moves.” As a digital service, U-NEXT is uniquely positioned to deliver a unique crafts program in which children get to use their hands and collaborate with digital technology to discover new forms of expression. “Ugokoso” is scheduled to be released as a multi-episode series in the summer of 2026. A program brought to you by filmmaker Masaya Ishikawa that will help develop children’s thinking skills. U-NEXT launched the website “U-NEXT Kids”
(https://kids.unext.co.jp/) in September 2024 and has been undertaking various initiatives under the theme “Watch, read, learn. U-NEXT for kids.” In October 2024, U-NEXT Kids’ first original program, “Sleeping Picture Book,” will begin streaming. Based on the concept of “good night,” we have launched a storytelling program that encourages the “habit of reading picture books before bed.”
https://www.unext.co.jp/ja/press-room/nemuruma-ehon-2024-10-25 “Ugo Crafts,” the second U-NEXT Kids program, is a crafts show created by graphic designer and filmmaker Masaya Ishikawa (Cog), who was a member of the creative group Euphrates until 2019 and was involved in the production of NHK Educational TV’s “Pitagora Switch” and “2355/0655.” By adding individual ideas to mechanisms that make interesting objects move, completely new forms of expression are born. As a digital service, U-NEXT places a premium on getting children to use their hands and think for themselves to come up with ideas. Find something fascinating, understand the source of that attraction, and apply it in your own unique way. With AI evolving at an accelerating pace, we aim to provide content that will lay the foundation for children’s thinking skills in the society they will live in after they become adults. “Ugosaku” official page https://program.ugokosaku.jp/ “Ugokosaku: Nice to Meet You” Viewing Page
https://video.unext.jp/title/SID0230126 “Ugokosha: Nice to Meet You” Promotional Video
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qdd_srTIfUk The special program “Movie Crafts: Nice to Meet You,” which will begin streaming this time, features six segments, each filled with fresh, surprising, and exciting movements. Among them, “Moving Machine Engine No. 1” uses a new mechanism that uses the power of magnets to create rotation simply by putting the box in and out, and a patent is currently pending (patent application 2025-127412) with director Masaya Ishikawa, handmade toy maker Fuki Sato, and service producer Kazuho Yoshida as inventors. We will be introducing new movements and ideas that have never been seen before on the program as soon as possible. • Anime craft • Ugosaku Engine No. 1 • Layered patterns come to life!! Layers Act • Anime camera • Work right away • Exploring the highlights Theme song “Ugokosaku no Uta” (Song of Moving Crafts) Lyrics: Masaya Ishikawa Composition: Ken Ito Singing: Nemu Yumemi
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/31998/2415/31998-2415-c3761b1c672495c1fed54b4fdf1e042f-2000×1663.jpg To allow more people to enjoy “Ugo Crafts,” videos from each corner are also posted on the U-NEXT Kids’ official YouTube channel. Please enjoy them together. Furthermore, below is a conversation between director Masaya Ishikawa and producer Keita Hasegawa (U-NEXT) about the thoughts and how “Ugokoso” came to be. Please take a look. https://program.ugokosaku.jp/ishikawa-hasegawa “Ugo Crafts” will expand beyond the TV program and be developed into books and workshops. “Ugo Crafts” will be streamed as a series in the summer of 2026, with new segments added. Also, on Monday, September 1st, Shogakukan released the book “Layer’s Act: Layered Patterns Come to Life!”. This is the fifth installment in the “Pepapuntas Book” series, a spin-off of the paper-making mook “Pepapuntas,” and is a new “experience book” that lets you enjoy “Layer’s Act,” introduced in “Merry-go-round.”
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/31998/2415/31998-2415-1ddbd2e1d888eea16304eb34a7131e6d-1080×1350.jpg https://www.shogakukan.co.jp/books/09725425 We also plan to hold workshops using “Ugo Crafts,” where we will interact with children and share the fun of crafting and the joy of thinking. As the first step, we will hold the first “Ugo Crafts Engine No. 1” workshop on Sunday, October 19th, at our hands-on classroom, “Everyone’s Adventure Classroom.”
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/31998/2415/31998-2415-cf6056094e62effc1c0475a197d33f25-1840×900.png https://sciencebouken-ugokousaku.peatix.com/view “Ugo Crafts” is fun to watch, but it also goes beyond the show and seeks out encounters with children in various places. Experience the joy of thinking and the joy of creating with “Ugo Crafts.” Don’t miss it! What is U-NEXT U-NEXT is the video streaming service with the largest number of titles available for unlimited viewing*. Enjoy over 400,000 titles, including movies, dramas, and anime. You can also watch live music and stage performances, as well as the world’s top sports, including soccer, golf, and martial arts, in real time. We also offer over 1.21 million manga and books, providing a genre-bending entertainment experience that seamlessly combines video, books, sports, and live performances in one app. By integrating with Paravi in July 2023, we’ll offer an even more compelling service with a vast lineup of dramas and variety shows from TBS and TV Tokyo. U-NEXT Inc. is a group company of U-NEXT HOLDINGS Inc. (Headquarters: Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Yasuhide Uno). U-NEXT: https://video.unext.jp U-NEXT SQUARE：https://square.unext.jp *According to GEM Partners / As of August 2025 A survey of foreign films, Japanese films, foreign TV dramas, Korean and Asian dramas, domestic TV dramas, and anime on major Japanese subscription-based video streaming services. Some titles are available for a separate fee.
