A Cinematic Gothic Fantasy Romance Ready for Adaptation
To Kill A Monster, Must We Become One Ourselves?
Howl’s Moving Castle x Castlevania.
An anime-inspired gothic fantasy romance about legacy, love, and the ultimate cost of power. Set in a world where magic is feared and ancient evils stir beneath the surface. As old powers awaken and impossible choices demand sacrifice, the line between hero and monster begins to disappear.
Trailer
A beautiful blend of romance, fantasy, and mystery. The world feels rich and alive, but it’s the characters that truly stayed with me long after I finished reading
$175,000+ Raised
Successfully funded and published through direct audience support via Kickstarter across all projects.
1000's of Readers Worldwide
Building a growing international fanbase across multiple releases.
Proven Creative Team
Led by Times bestselling illustrator Amrit Birdi with credits across entertainment, including many global brands.
Synopsis
In the isolated town of Thornstead, magic is feared, monsters lurk beyond the walls…
…and every generation lives under the shadow of an ancient darkness.
When a chance encounter brings the kind-hearted Lila into the orbit of Elion, a mysterious outsider burdened by secrets of his own, both find their lives irrevocably changed. Drawn together by forces neither fully understands, they become entangled in a growing conflict that threatens not only their future, but the fate of the world itself.
As old powers awaken and long-buried truths come to light, Lila and Elion are forced to confront impossible choices. Ancient rivalries resurface, hidden agendas emerge, and the line between hero and monster becomes increasingly difficult to define. With every sacrifice demanded by their journey, they must decide what they are willing to become – and what they are prepared to lose.
Blending gothic fantasy, romance, mystery, and adventure, Aglow is a story about legacy, identity, and the ultimate cost of power. At its heart lies a haunting question:
To defeat a monster, must we become one ourselves?
Aglow is an anime-inspired gothic fantasy romance about legacy, identity, and the cost of power, blending sweeping fantasy, heartfelt relationships, and haunting mystery into a story where love and betrayal awaken not only the monsters outside, but the ones within.
Project Snapshot
Aglow is a cinematic anime-inspired gothic fantasy romance designed for audiences drawn to dark magic, emotional character drama, haunting mystery, and visually rich fantasy worlds.
Audience
Built for fantasy romance and dark fantasy audiences, particularly readers and viewers drawn to gothic atmosphere, strong emotional stakes, complex relationships, and character-led mystery.
Adaptation Fit
Ideally suited to animation or prestige fantasy television, with a distinctive gothic visual identity, emotionally driven leads, dark fantasy world-building, and a compact duology structure.
Commercial Appeal
Combines gothic fantasy, romance, mystery, and action with proven crowdfunding traction, collector editions, and strong potential for books, animation, merchandise, and expanded media.
Gorgeous artwork, compelling characters, and a story that constantly kept me guessing. Aglow feels like it was made to be animated.
Audience Validation
Aglow has raised over $66,000 through crowdfunding and reached thousands of readers worldwide.
This combination of completed source material, audience engagement, and proven market demand provides a strong foundation for future expansion and adaptation.
At its heart, however, Aglow resonates because of its timeless themes: identity, legacy, sacrifice, and the question of how much of ourselves we are willing to lose in pursuit of power, purpose, and love.
Adaptation Potential & Visual Development
Every page of Aglow was created with cinematic storytelling in mind.
Spanning over 200 pages across two seasons, the series combines the emotional intimacy of a character-driven romance with the atmosphere and scale of gothic fantasy. Drawing inspiration from anime, dark fantasy cinema, and contemporary entertainment design, the artwork blends expressive character performances, dramatic lighting, richly detailed environments, and visually striking action sequences.
Across the duology, Aglow establishes a complete visual identity for the property, bringing its characters, creatures, locations, magical systems, and key narrative moments fully to life. The result is a cohesive and immersive world with a distinctive aesthetic and a strong emotional core.
Created with adaptation in mind, the graphic novels serve as both a finished entertainment product and a proof of concept, showcasing the tone, visual language, character arcs, and world-building that define the series.
The result is a property with a clear creative vision, an established audience, and an extensive library of existing visual assets.
Interested in talking about this project?
Preview
Creative Team
Amrit. B
Co-writer & Artist
Amrit Birdi is a No.1 Times Best-Selling Comic Book Artist, most widely known for best known for illustrating Joe Sugg’s Username:Series (Hachette) and Anthony Horowitz’s Alex Rider (Walker books).
Day-to-day, Amrit works as Art Director of AmCo Studio and has delivered work for brands including Adidas, Disney, Amazon, SquareEnix, Ubisoft, Netflix, Cineworld, Fanta, Penguin Random House, Ubisoft, Adobe, Prime Video, Walker Books, Bandai/Namco, Lucozade and many more.
Maddie. S
Co-writer
Maddie is a passionate storyteller and digital illustrator.
She has been working with Amrit for a number of years as an art assistant, editor and writer. Her interests spread across multiple genres in which she uses her vibrant illustration and storytelling style to bring characters and settings to life.
David. C
Background Artist
David C is a background artist specialising in anime-inspired environments, creating atmospheric worlds that blend cinematic composition, colour, and light.
His work focuses on crafting memorable locations that deepen immersion, reinforce story, and bring the worlds of the AmCo Collective to life.
The chemistry between the leads is fantastic, and the world-building is rich without ever overwhelming the story. I was hooked from the first page.
Season One
In the isolated town of Thornstead, magic is feared, monsters stalk the wilderness beyond the walls, and every generation lives beneath the shadow of an ancient curse.
Lila has spent her life believing there is good in everyone. Compassionate, determined, and guided by an unwavering moral compass, she dreams of a world where people no longer have to live in fear. But when she crosses paths with Elion, a mysterious outsider haunted by secrets of his own, she finds herself drawn into a conflict far greater than she ever imagined.
As strange events begin to unfold and long-buried truths emerge from the darkness, Lila discovers that the monsters threatening Thornstead may not be the greatest danger after all. Ancient powers are stirring, hidden forces are manipulating events from the shadows, and the future of the town may rest in the hands of those least prepared to bear its burden.
Together, Lila and Elion embark on a journey that will challenge everything they believe about themselves, their world, and the line between hero and monster. As their bond deepens and the stakes continue to rise, they are forced to confront a question that will define their future: Can we remain true to ourselves when the world demands we become something else?
Season One introduces a gothic fantasy world of mystery, romance, and adventure, laying the foundations for a story about legacy, sacrifice, and the cost of holding onto our humanity in the face of darkness.
Season Two
Old powers stir in the dark, and the fragile peace surrounding Thornstead begins to unravel.
Following the revelations of Season One, Lila and Elion find themselves pulled deeper into a conflict that has been shaping their world for generations. Ancient secrets refuse to stay buried, dangerous new enemies emerge from the shadows, and long-forgotten truths about the past threaten everything they thought they understood.
As tensions rise and the forces gathering around Thornstead grow stronger, both are forced to confront impossible choices. Loyalties are tested, sacrifices become unavoidable, and the line between saviour and destroyer grows increasingly difficult to define. With each passing challenge, they are pushed closer to the very thing they fear becoming.
Meanwhile, the true battle for Thornstead’s future begins. Powerful factions move into position, hidden agendas come to light, and the consequences of past actions echo across the present. What began as a fight for survival becomes a struggle for the soul of an entire world.
Blending gothic fantasy, romance, mystery, and high-stakes drama, Season Two expands the scale of the story while deepening its emotional core, asking a question that lies at the heart of the series:
To defeat a monster, must we become one ourselves?
Sketchbook
Send an Enquiry
If you’d like to discuss Rid of You further, explore adaptation opportunities, or request additional materials, I’d be delighted to arrange an initial conversation.