Anime Expo had a lot of heavy hitters, surprise releases, and hidden gems. N Lite was one of those.

N Lite is a media company and anime studio that bridges anime and “the culture”. They have hubs in the U.S. and Tokyo and strive to tell stories that transport us on amazing journeys and unforgettable characters.

When I saw the booth, the first thing I said was, “Wow, this looks so Ghibli!” and rightfully so. I had the opportunity to meet with N Lite’s founder, Christiano Terry, by way of our dear friend (my bonus sister, but Tobi & Toyin’s actual sister) Jumai. We discussed N Lite’s path to success, their collaborators, inspiration, and more. See the interview below:

Read more: AX 2025: Mfinda – N Lite Interview

Elle
“ So first and foremost, thank you for doing the interview with me today. Of course, when Jumai introduced us, I was just floored when I saw you on the Anime Expo app. I didn’t know the story (Mfinda), but just reading the story by itself, it was beautiful. What we want is to see  ourselves represented in something, especially in the community at large. At the con, you talked about this at length from the panels you’ve been in, but could you briefly go over where the inspiration for Mfinda came from?”

Christiano Terry
“ Wonderful. Well, first of all, thank you so much for interviewing me, and thank you for coming to both of the panels I was on. So, Mfinda, we learned about the story through Patience Lekien, who is the creator.  I was so captivated by his artwork and his Congolese background, and all the authenticity and family and community that he put into the world, which was elevated through the anime medium. And obviously, he was a very talented illustrator and artist. And so we started working together to craft an actual film.  My background, I’m actually a screenwriter; I went to film school, I went to animation school, you know, so we were able to really collaborate in a deep and meaningful way to get the story the way we felt like it needed to be.  Then, we kind of went from there and showed it to GKids, showed it to Viola Davis (JuVee Productions). Everybody just had this amazing reaction to the artwork, to the story, and just to the magic of it. Mfinda has this thing, for some reason, that just immediately when people see it, they’re like, ‘wow’.”

Elle
“ Especially when I first came, yesterday, I saw the table. The first thing I said was, This looks Ghibli-inspired. At the panel, GKids said they have a lot of Ghibli inspiration that they get, but Patience’s work really had this essence and feel to it that was really nice.

 So, going in blind. As far as the spirits and other gods in the film, since they’re two different characters meeting in the middle, which spirits or gods in the film are you excited to bring to the screen?”

Christiano Terry
“ Well, you saw the reaction of Queen Simbi, she’s inspired by Mami Wata, which  us throughout the diaspora, we have these indigenous deities and things that represent nature really in our connection to nature. So, Mami Wata  is our connection to creation, to birth, to the seed, to healing, right? So I’m very excited about Queen Simbi. I’m also excited about the spirits that are keepers of the Mfinda – the forest.  Because the film is really about our connection to nature and to our ancestors.

So, how does all of that kind of intertwine? You know, and we did a lot of research, and Patience is, of course, Congolese. And also, we have another Congolese cultural consultant, her name is Sara Ndoye, she actually works with Joel Embiid(GKids).  So we’ve done a lot of work to make sure the spiritual elements are very authentic, but still respectfully portrayed.

Even the Nkisi that’s in the story;  I just did a panel at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, and we went to see the in that they had in the archives. And so these are like real objects and real things that we’re putting on screen, which is so amazing, because we don’t get to do that in our culture at all.”

Elle
“That’s so cool!”
“To go backwards, a little more about you and your origin story about your company. You  talked about how you wanna bring more light to imaginations, to black creators. We have current minds like Coogler and Peele, especially with the boom of Sinners (and Ironheart!). We have more of these stories that aren’t focused just on Black American trauma. So when it comes to animation, since you have been doing this with your company for the past five years, what are some other stories that you are excited to bring for the future?”

Christiano Terry
“ I’m from Detroit, Michigan, and my parents were artists. I was always captivated by what happened before. It’s  very important to tell the story of our ancestors on this soil that went through slavery and went through so much oppression.  But also, it’s important for us to talk about what it was like before them. What things did we lose that we may not have access to? You know, you mentioned that you were Muslim, like my father just became a Muslim. That was existing in our culture before we came to America.  So I think it’s so important to tap into that. And I’ve always been captivated by that from a little kid, but also, the imagination is important.

Sometimes people say black stories look “this way”, and I totally reject that because our imagination  is so vast, so wide, and so with our stories, we wanna tap into that and make sure that we are getting to just play and have fun, and also have that kind of anchor, which is the culture and the authenticity.

 I mentioned that we’re doing some other films like Chiure: Child of the Sea, which is based in Mozambique. But yes, I’m so excited about that.

You’re hearing this first, we’re also doing a project based on Gullah Geechee folklore! So, that’s very exciting and will be announced very soon. It will be a film based on Gullah Geechee folklore. I watched Daughters of the Dust by Julie Dash, and I was so inspired. I went to South Carolina, went to St. Helena Island, was there with the culture, and I think that the diaspora meets everywhere, and here in America, we have things that are unique that we don’t even really get to talk about all the time.”

Elle
“Exciting! So, you are also producing with Arthell Isom, creating this perfect blend of Black culture and animation. The culture loves him! What has it been like to work with him to bring this vision to life?”

Christiano Terry
“Arthell is like my brother. It’s funny because when we met at first, he was like ‘who is this guy?’ And I was like ‘who is he?’ So we would zoom, and maybe four years ago we finally met up in Tokyo and we instantly had this brother connection, you know? He’s like my big brother, and sometimes I feel like his big brother. It’s so important for us to work together and not be competitive. I’m doing my thing, you’re doing your thing. I think everyone can have their shine, have their moment, and it’s beautiful when we shine together.

With Arthell and I, as two black men, it’s important for us to see eye to eye and uplift each other. This project has been uplifting for both of us.”

Elle
“On your website, you are the originator of ‘afrime’ which is afro-anime. How did you coin that term?”

Christiano Terry
“ So as an artist, you just be up at three o’clock in the morning coming up with stuff, you know? And it’s just something that came to me that people started to resonate with. And since we came up with that term, we haven’t used it as much. But the, the reason why is because I don’t want to feel like Nlite is trying to board a whole genre of things, right?

I want everybody to feel like we all need to make this. We all need to be a part of this. So we started, and are the home of that term ‘afrime’. But, I encourage other people to take claim of that and to make it a movement. The thing that I’m most passionate about it cultural bridge making.

We have our authentic culture, that we infuse with Japanese culture, and it has to be a true meeting. If you ever have a chance, go to Tokyo, meet with people. There are a lot of Black influencers in Tokyo that I didn’t know about, but we gotta go here, and they need to come to us too. It has to be that equal thing, you know? That truly makes it a meeting of the minds and the cultures, and that’s the goal.”

Elle
“Based on the information that I saw on your website, you have your company in Japan, but you also have one that’s being created in Nigeria! Can you explain the feeling of being able to work with those different cultures and creatives there?

Christiano Terry
“ So NLite Africa is already registered in Nigeria, in Lagos, and it’s uh, like a satellite office where we use it as a way to engage with artists on the continent.

 So we’re working with artists in Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda, Mozambique, Ivory Coast, and South Africa currently. So we’re just using it as a hub to be able to connect to our people. We just signed on a manga artist that’s in the Ivory Coast, and he is so dope. His name is Allanva Niamen, and he’s going to be working on the Mfinda manga. There’s just so much talent, and that’s why it’s important to work with African artists that are on the continent and give them opportunities to work with Japanese artists.”

Elle
“That’s great! How did you get your timeline of creating NLite, then working on Mfinda, then GKids? You started in 2020, and you have your background, you mentioned in the panel, in film, but also in business. So, how did all this amazing stuff happen in 5 years?”

Christiano Terry
“Sometimes I feel like it took a little longer than I wanted, but it’s divine timing. I started NLite in 2020. We started out with a lot of stories. We didn’t know if it was gonna be strictly anime or live action.

We really leaned into anime after we said Mfinda is going to be the first film, and I said, ‘if we’re gonna do something, we gotta just do it.’ So everything is anime, right? We wanna make sure that we can make timeless films that you could watch 20 years from now.

So, 2020, we started the company, ’21 I met Patience, ’22 we met with GKids, and we’ve been working with GKids for the past three years. So, that’s crazy. And we brought on Viola Davis in ’23, I like to keep that trajectory going up.”

Elle
“When I think about GKids, I think longevity. Every film from them has had weight to it, like Belle. I’m looking forward to more cooperation with them.”

Christiano Terry
“I gotta thank Eric Beckman, who’s their CEO. He’s a good friend, and he wants to do all our movies, so we’re gonna make it happen. Thank you for such a great interview!”

It was a pleasure and honor being able to speak with Christiano and meet the NLite team. Be sure to check out Mfinda when it drops and go to the Mfinda panel at Anime NYC 2025!