Eva and The Phantom Train | GHOST RING Trailer

Inspiration

GHOST RING has been my passion project since 2010. It started as simple sketches and stories I made during my student years, slowly expanding into illustrations, games, manga, animations, and visual novels. The deep emotional bond between Eva and Rai has always fascinated me, and with the rise of AI technology, I finally saw a way to bring them into a Live Action world.

What it does

“Eva and The Phantom Train” tells the story of a mysterious incident in Tokyo, where a haunted train sends its passengers into an endless sleep. Eva and Rai step into this mystery, uncovering the truth.

How we built it

This trailer was created entirely with AI-assisted tools for video, image, and sound generation. Every scene was crafted using image to video workflows, combining realistic cinematic prompts with careful color direction to match the tone of Japanese live-action dramas. The soundtrack and insert song were generated using AI music tools inspired by emotional anime film scores.

Challenges we ran into

For me, the video generation process was surprisingly smooth, it often captured the visuals I wanted, and when it didn’t, a few retries usually fixed it. However, audio generation is still the hardest part. ElevenLabs is already amazing for its current capabilities, but creating truly emotional voice performances remains a challenge.

Since my biggest inspiration for this project is Makoto Shinkai’s movie trailers, I realized how much emotion and nuance human voice actors bring to a story, something that AI voices haven’t fully achieved yet.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

I’m proud that after more than a decade, GHOST RING is finally evolving beyond static art, into something that breathes, moves, and feels alive. Seeing Eva, Rai, and Lyene in motion always felt like rediscovering my own world through new eyes.

What we learned

AI can be a powerful creative partner, but it needs human direction to create meaning. I learned how pacing, sound design, and emotional timing make or break a story, especially in a short format like a trailer.

Built With

• elevenlabs
• freepik
• google
• kling
• veo