New Way, New World: Connecting Japanese Animators to the World

In the midst of the frenzy night a man finds himself lost in the crevasse of time.

A swinging animation drawn with a pencil. It shows a view of a coffee shop interior by panning the camera. Small differences are repeated through rotation, and the inside of the store changes as if seen through a car window.

In a year when the world was wrapped in uncertainty, life continued and the seasons turned, even in a world that seemed still. Confused yet moving forward, people gradually found small pleasures and joys. A film portraying the time and emotions of such days.

This is an animation based on a dream I had after being dumped by my partner. The work touches on major issues Japan was facing at the time, including the March 11, 2011 earthquake, the ongoing aftershocks, and the nuclear power plant crisis. The atmosphere of that unsettling time and the gloom within my own heart became entangled in my mind and were remixed in this piece.

Even painful events from the past eventually become memories with time. But still, we vomit again and eat again. Life is ecological.

In a cave it awakes. It has the appearance of a human being, but it is nothing more than an empty puppet. As the boundaries between itself and others are blent, it realises the cycle of life and death.

Tsumire is the only one in her family with good eyesight. She adores her ten-year-older brother and believes everything he says is true. However, she's annoyed by his constant entourage of 8 girlfriends, except for QT, whom she trusts. Despite being a conspiracy theorist, QT is admired by Tsumire. Troubled by her small eyes since childhood, Tsumire's interactions with QT and others lead to a shift in her thoughts and perspective.

The blind Hoichi was exceptionally skilled at playing the biwa. Lured by his playing, spirits began to visit him, and he performed for them night after night. Fearing that the ghosts would eventually claim his life, a riest covered Hoichi’s entire body with sacred sutra writings to protect him. Caught between the visible world and the unseen, Hoichi’s heart raged violently.

In a world where cows who do not bear calves cannot remain, Eri, a Holstein cow, falls in love with another female.