“Morshiken” is an animated series produced by Ankama Animations, directed by Tot and Malec. This project involves 15 students selected from the top talents of the 11 e-artsup campuses, working full-time in a dedicated space within Ankama Animation. “This is not just an observational internship, but a complete production, designed for them, with the same tools, the same constraints, and the same ambitions as any series from the studio.”
The students participate in all stages of creation: storyboarding, character design, compositing, set creation, and scriptwriting. They even benefited from a writing workshop with Tot.
Presented in preview at the Annecy Festival from June 8 to 14, 2025, with a specific screening on June 12, the series was highlighted as an original and irreverent web series, intended for YouTube.
Release Date:
No official release date has been revealed. The latest elements indicate a release in 2025, but without precision. The lack of post-Annecy announcements suggests that the date could be revealed soon, perhaps during events like the Japan Expo.
Plot and Style
The plot (source) follows “Morshiken, a struggling Sram, tries to manage his dungeon… A ruin so foul-smelling that anything with a nose (or a snout) prefers to avoid it. Broke and stuck in an endless spiral of failure, our hero desperately seeks to make his business work. Fortunately, he can count on SDF, a rapper Iop surprisingly wise (for an Iop).”
The series breaks the fourth wall (à la Deadpool), with elements of absurd comedy, adventure, and parody, revisiting the Dofus universe with a satirical touch. The tone is described as more adult, with themes like the quest for an ultimate goal and irreverence.
The first episode, “This is my dungeon,” screened at the Annecy Festival and will be available again at the Japan Expo, introduces Morshiken, an ambitious but disillusioned character who has dreamed since childhood of owning a five-star dungeon, with a statuette in his likeness and a ritual where visitors will chant his name Morshiken with reverence. However, reality is far from his aspirations: his dungeon is in ruins, infested with rats, foul-smelling, and far from the prestigious place he imagined. Morshiken expresses his frustration at the deplorable state of his domain and doubts his ability to restore it.
The episode takes on a humorous and self-critical tone when Morshiken meets a character nicknamed “SDF”, an exuberant rapper who seems to be imposed by the production for reasons of “subsidies” and narrative appeal. SDF annoys Morshiken with his provocative behavior and his improvised rap, which criticizes their precarious situation while aiming to “go viral”. Despite their differences, the two characters share a comic dynamic, marked by sarcastic exchanges and crude humor.
Morshiken learns that he was tricked by an individual with a bad reputation, who sold him a dungeon in poor condition. The latter, known for being “the biggest fool in the region”, admits to scamming him while Morshiken was drunk. As the situation worsens, the seller is abruptly killed, making any refund impossible.
Demoralized, Morshiken is about to give up. SDF reminds him, breaking the fourth wall, that if he gives up, “there will be no series” and thus, no more Morshiken. Resigned, they decide to renovate the dungeon. To do this, they need monsters, and as luck would have it, they spot a “monster market” nearby. The episode ends with their decision to go there to buy creatures, launch their dungeon, and finally make “some cash and get views”.
The script parodies the clichés of fantasy universes and shonen. The dialogue is filled with slang and modern references. The characters talk about “making dirty money”, “cash”, inflation, and one of the heroes is a rapper who wants to “blow up the audience”. This constant shift between the medieval-fantasy setting and contemporary language is a major source of comedy.
Series Format
The series consists of 13 episodes of 10 minutes each and will probably have only one season as it is a student project, but the idea could be reproduced in the future if the audience is receptive.
Casting
No information on the casting, including voice actors, has been revealed in the consulted sources, including Ankama’s official sites, press articles, and online discussions. This is probably due to the fact that the series is still in the promotion phase before its release, and these details could be announced later. However, we can recognize the voice of Malec?
Broadcast
Likely broadcast in 2025 on YouTube, but no exact date has been announced.