Beat & Motion

Beat & Motion (stylized as BEAT＆MOTION) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoki Fujita. It began serialization on Shueisha's Shōnen Jump+ app and website in February 2023. An original net anime (ONA) adaptation is in production.

Plot
As a child Tatsuhiko dreamed of being an animator but gave up that dream after relentless teasing from his classmates. His friends later started a band and music became his new passion. The band eventually breaks up pushing Tatsuhiko to become cynical and double down on his view of dreams being useless. However, while demeaning a friend's dreams, an unknown drunk woman calls him out on this cynical outlook, angrily yelling at him in the streets. This chance encounter revives Tatsuhiko’s childhood passion for animation, and he begins again by uploading a short two minute animation online. He is then contacted by Nico, an independent artist he has long been a huge fan of, who wishes to work with him to create an animated music video for her latest song. To his horror, when finally meeting the artist, he learns that she is the same drunk woman who had berated him about dreams before. She appears to not remember their previous encounter and the two agree to work together. They begin to growing closer, encouraging each other throughout the process.

Nico is eventually contacted by a major record label to have her sign on with them. This unfortunately puts her project with Tatsuhiko on hold since the label will hold the rights to her song. Tatsu instead works on creating a different animation for a local contest and also befriends a couple other aspiring animators at his college.

Nico is shocked when the record label has to put her debut on hold due to an influx of artists from another label that had to close down. Nico asks if in the meantime she could write and compose songs. She submits a song to a competition which may lead to a collaboration with a popular pop artist Miyu. Nico's song is chosen but she discovers that Miyu is her childhood best friend, Miu, who shared Nico's passion for music. The two had a falling out and drifted apart after Nico gave up on music. At first Miyu pretends she doesn't know Nico, but later pulls Nico into another room demanding an answer for why Nico initially gave up on music.

Characters

 * Tatsuhiko Hirayama
 * The main protagonist, the “motion” of the title, had childhood dreams of becoming an animator. After relentless teasing and humiliation from his classmates he gave up on that dream and his passion for animation.  By college he grows cynical and feels that not only his, but all dreams are pointless.  Tatsuhiko has a chance encounter with an aggressive drunk woman who berates him after he made fun a friends dream.  This confrontation causes him to reignite his passion and try again to pursue animation. Despite his cynicism, Tatsu is actually quite thoughtful and kindhearted.  He learns how his actions have both hurt and encouraged others. Through his interactions with Nico he grows as a person as they both support each other. He is hinted to have growing romantic feelings for Nico but is unable to confess due to lack of confidence.


 * Nico Kashiwagi
 * The secondary protagonist and the “beat” of the title, Nico Kashiwagi is an independent music artist who Tatsu has been a huge fan of for years. She is the drunk woman who berated Tatsu though she appears not to remember the interaction. She asks to work with Tatsu to create an animated music video for her latest song. Nico, bubbly and passionate, continually encourages Tatsu to pursue his dreams. He in turn encourages her. Under her cheerful exterior Nico hides a lot of loss and pain especially from her Mom's retirement and the falling out she had with her childhood friend, which is evident in her alcoholism, often getting incredibly drunk and belligerent. She is hinted to have growing romantic feelings for Tatsuhiko but continually covers them up with excuses and her infectious optimism.

Production
In June 2021, Shōnen Jump+ launched an eight-part web series titled Million Tag. On the show, manga artists and their editors competed in a contest, with the grand prize winner getting ¥5,000,000 in cash, a chance to serialize their manga on Shōnen Jump+ with at least one tankōbon volume being published, and an anime adaptation from Netflix. Beat & Motion won the contest.

Manga
Written and illustrated by Naoki Fujita, the series began serialization on the Shōnen Jump+ app and website on February 25, 2023. As of June 2024, the series' individual chapters have been collected in four tankōbon volumes.

Viz Media and Shueisha's Manga Plus service are publishing the series simultaneously with its Japanese release.

Chapters not yet in tankōbon format

 * Chapters 20-31
 * Bonus Chapter 1

Anime
An original net anime (ONA) adaptation is in production, with Netflix set to distribute the series globally.

Reception
Robbie Pleasant from Multiversity Comics felt the story was "relatable" and "hard-hitting". He also praised the artwork and its use of small details.