WON’T TAKE UP YOUR TIME — INDIE ANIME SHORTS RECOMMENDATION

As much as I love watching complete series, I enjoy watching independent animated shorts from animators as well. These short pieces, both in literature and animation, has different story-telling techniques and as someone who always fails at brewity, I’m especially left in awe with how much one can tell with so little. Some of these animators have really outstanding graduation projects. Today I’ll share some of these shorts I enjoyed, with as much information I can find on them. However, the embeds are directly from their own Youtube channels. Less words and more animation, here I go.

Ryoji Yamada — Waiter

This was… an experience indeed. What I enjoyed in this short was the form of the characters and the surrealist dreamscape. His other works are similar to Waiter in taste. For more of his works and short biography, here’s his official website! I especially recommend checking out his Instagram.

Yoko Kuno — Airy Me

Yoko Kuno is seen as the ‘anime’s rising star’. She is well-known for her work in Houseki no Kuni (Land of the Lusterous) and Beastars, in which she was the key animator for Haru’s dream sequence. No wonder my favorite part of the anime came from someone so talented! The short above is her graduation project, I was stunned to see a work that looks so soft and unsettling at the same time. Here’s a great article on her, which also gives more detailed information on how this collaboration between Cushee and Yoko Kuno came to be.

dksNoting — Bangs

This…. I came across this work by randomly checking out other animated pieces and I’ve been wrecking my brain since then as to who tihs person is because I know I’ve read BL manga from this artist, I just know…. but who?? My current best guess is Tagura Tohru, artist of the Koimonogatari series, however, please take it with a grain of salt. And please let me know before my brain explodes!!! ｡･ﾟ’(/益＼) ‘ﾟ･｡ Apart from the fact that I’m obsessed with who might be the artist, I loved this short because it’s a brief and poignant story on love and the ideal.

Mai Shizuse — Only You

Everything about this short is soft, round and cute; what more one needs in such dire times! Another graduation project that tells the story of a pet hamster and a bird that loves their human very much~ Appreciated the soothing colors and environment. Sadly, I couldn’t find much on them.

Mariyasu — Shu

I couldn’t believe this was a graduation project! Such quality and detail that left me speechless. Animation’s first and foremost concern is the movement and everything else that leads to that and Shu showcased everything from soft touches to loud crashes, interesting angles and character design. It’s cute, it’s supernatural with a dash of historical imagery, the BGM and the background designs envelop the chase that’s going on in the animation. You can find the manga titles and other animations the artist worked on by clicking here.

Shingo Tamagawa — PUPARIA

The first thought that popped in my head when I watched this short was “Oh…. Is this how falling in love feels like?“. Which is a ridiculous thought because I certainly fell in love before and I’m not some shoujo manga protagonist. However, I was so mesmerized and couldn’t take my eyes away. Everything about this short starting from the first seconds to the last was so captivating and well-executed. I don’t want to ruin your experience with my sloppy and limited vocabulary of adjectives, so I hope you take a little time to watch PUPARIA. Shingo Tamagawa has worked on one episode of Sangatsu no Lion as key animator and some of the Gundam seasons. Here’s more info on his work.

This was a very short post and a hastily put together on at that, but hopefully it was fun to read and you enjoyed the pieces. Let me know what you thought of them or share if you came across one that you really liked with me! If not, thanks for the support as always. See you tomorrow ~ (。･∀･)ﾉ

Header taken from Shingo Tamagawa’s Twitter.