Searching for information after spotting this at I.Gs Japanese site, where i gather theres 26 episodes at 30 minutes each, i see there has been a short series of 5 minute episodes produced and shown already - in 2003. Yesterday however the new series was announced as a collaboration between I.G and Bandai with the participation of the Cartoon Network (aka Toonami).
Essentially it's a western story produced by Japanese companies, to involve 'major Hollywood voice talent' it seems, and the music of British record label Ninja Tune. Would this be the first time for such a mix of east and west in terms of anime production?
'IGPX' means "Immortal Grand Prix' and seems to be based in the year 2048, and involves high-speed racing - kind of reminds me of 'F-Zero' which has also been an anime show in recent times, and an episode from the anime-shorts 'Neo Tokyo' too. Looking forward to this.
AnimeNewsNetworks press release is here.
If you look at the "Oban, Star-Racers" website, you'll see that artists (French and Japanese) and partners (Jetix, Bandai Visual etc...) come from both "East and West".
As far as I know, this kind of tight collaboration is a first on an animation series.
Conversely, IGPX, which looks really cool by the way (I saw a clip of it at the last Anime Fair), was produced in Japan with heavy capital but only minor artistic involvment from the guys at Cartoon Network. And who would blame them for it, Production IG is probably the best animation studio in Japan. They don't need any westerner to stick their nose into the artwork!
i dont think the IGPX is about westerners doing animation or design, but the writing...