DIGGIN’ THE SOUL, the original novel series from Matsumoto-based culture company ANIERA, has been added to the Nagano Prefectural Library collection. Set in 2050 Matsumoto and centered on the “souls” residing in cherished objects, the series marks a meaningful step for a regional IP that grew out of local streets, shops, and community memory.
Collected by Nagano Prefectural Library: a milestone for local IP
The library accession recognizes the series as a work with enduring cultural value. For ANIERA—an organization that curates anime culture, runs a reuse shop, and produces events—seeing its homegrown fiction archived by a public institution signals broader readership and long-tail discovery beyond typical fan circles.
Set in 2050 Matsumoto, where kitōshi face tsukumogami
The story follows kitōshi—exorcists who address incidents caused by tsukumogami, objects that have gained spirits across time. Protagonist Akari Anno, a record lover who frequents the reuse shop “ANIERA,” is one of them. Her fateful encounter with the blue-haired Umi Shirato becomes the hinge that turns a small-town routine into a city-scale mystery threaded with music, memory, and loss. As AI-driven convenience makes people care less about “things,” the narrative asks what remains in the bond between people and objects.
From reuse culture to soulcraft: what the series explores
ANIERA’s own roots in reuse culture color the fiction: analog records, vintage apparel, and once-loved items form the texture of Matsumoto’s near future. The series reframes “secondhand” as second life, where personal histories turn into living spirits—sometimes gentle, sometimes dangerous—requiring the craft and ethics of the kitōshi to mend. It’s a local fantasy that doubles as a meditation on care, repair, and continuity.
Release timeline so far: Vol.1–3 and what comes next
- Vol.1 — Apr 2025 (reprinted in Aug 2025)
- Vol.2 — Aug 2025
- Vol.3 — Sep 2025, announced and released at “Nagano ANIERA Fes 2025”
The series is three volumes in print with further volumes and media expansions planned. The author duo writes under the pen name Furuido Batsu, weaving real Matsumoto scenes and shops into a fictional fabric that still feels walkable.
Author and publisher from Matsumoto
ANIERA Inc. is a culture company based in Matsumoto, Nagano. Alongside events and an anime-goods reuse shop (ANIERA base matsumoto), the team develops apparel and original IP. The guiding idea—“bridging what people love”—connects their retail practice to their storytelling about objects with lingering souls.
Official contacts from Matsumoto: ANIERA’s hub and form
- ANIERA official site
- Press & partnership inquiries
- Company address: 5-13 Miyata, Matsumoto, Nagano 399-0001, Japan
- Store: ANIERA base matsumoto, 3-18-3 Tsukama, Matsumoto, Nagano 390-0821
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