Mitchell Ellis: The Anime

Mitchell Ellis: The Anime began as a spin off of the series Jake Hepburn: The Anime. It was the first of several additions to main story line of the JHTA-AU. The story revolves around the titular character Mitchell Ellis, one of Jake's oldest friends, who sets out on a journey as a lone traveler, determined to help others.

Synposis
When Jake departs for the American Islands, his good friend and work colleague, Mitchell Ellis, is left questioning the meaning of life. When he encounters a tree spirit during one of his annual forest hiking adventures, it dawns on Mitch that he must set off on an adventure to discover his true purpose. Along the way he finds many other travelers who require his assistance, befriends the universally acclaimed dark programmer, Bill Doors, and begins to uncover the true nature of his origins.

Seasons
The series ran for a total of 3 seasons. The first season was released in 2009, followed by a second season in 2012. The final season was released in 2015, following the crossover OVA. The series was later renewed for a sequel as part of Phase II.

Production
META began production in 2008 when studio Ufotable announced their imminent departure from JHTA. They began collaborating with Toei Animation to produce the two series simultaneously, with original author Oda assisting in the script writing process. In 2012 the series was renewed for a second season, due to the overwhelming success of the initial release. Key animators of the second and third seasons included Rick Harrison and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, who both went on to win several awards for their contributions to the anime community.

Release
Aniplex collected the episodes into a 7 part "Ultimate Tree Box" after the series concluded in 2015. In Australia the series has been released in 37 VHS sets by Milo Australia, in co-operation with ABC Kids. Due to the extended hiatus of 2015, the series is currently unavailable to purchase in the United States, although it can be streamed on Stan and Hulu.

Films
In an interview with L’Oréal, voice actor Mitchell Ellis announced that executive producers at Ufotable had plans to produce five feature films with a yearly release schedule. Unfortunately, due to the final extended hiatus of the AU, these films were dropped from production. Tony Abbott, voice actor for Pet Rock, has stated on his Tumblr account that the films are "still a possibility, depending on the sales of the META VHS Season Sets". However, Mr. Abbott later retracted these claims when Ufotable allegedly filed a copyright infringement notice.

The script for the first META film, titled "Mitchell Ellis and The Forest of Trees", was eventually published as a two part novella, revised by Shannon Noll and Michael Bay. The status of the films remains unknown.