2013 did not
disappoint when it came to indie animation fare. Due to the vagaries of short film
distribution, to qualify for this list films either had to be released in Japan
in 2013 or be a 2012 Japanese release that screened at European festivals in
2013. There are so many talented
animators working in Japan at the moment that it was nigh on impossible for me to narrow my
list down to just 10, but I somehow managed a short list of 15. Without further ado, here are my screening highlights from the past year ordered randomly.
Kick-Heart (Yuasa Masaaki, 2013)
I am a
long-time fan of Yuasa Masaaki (Mind Game,
Tatami Galaxy), travelling to Dortmund in 2011 to see him at the
Japan Media Arts Festival (read
about his film talk there), so I was delighted to be able to put my money
where my mouth is and support him in his latest project Kick-Heart. It is, indeed, a
kick-ass film and I hope to review my copy of the Blu-ray/DVD set soon. Kudos to Production I.G. for going the extra mile for innovative animation.
Combustible (火要鎮 / Hi no Yōjin, 2012)
This short
film by legendary manga-ka and animator Katsuhiro
Otomo (Akira, Memories) won the Animation Grand Prize at the Japan Media Arts Festival
2012 and then went on to win the Noburō Ōfuji Award at the 2012 Mainichi
Concours. Combustible is an adaptation of Otomo’s 1994 one-shot manga of the
same name and is set during the time of the great fires in Edo. This
film appears as part of the anthology anime Short
Peace (ショート・ピース, 2013) alongside animated shorts by Shuhei Morita, Hiraki Ando and Hajime
Katoki. I will be reviewing Short Peace when the Blu-ray is released
mid-January 2014. Although Otomo isn't exactly "indie", one can't argue that he takes risks with his animation, going beyond the mainstream in his choice of subject matter and style of animation.
Futon (布団, 2012)
This minimalist short by Yoriko Mizushiri explores
the sensual aspects of being sleepily wrapped up in a warm duvet. It won
a number of prizes in Japan including the prestigious Renzo Kinoshita Prize at Hiroshima
and the New Face Award at the Japan Media Arts Festival. It has also been a big
hit at international festivals, making the short list for Cartoon Brew’s most
well liked animated short of 2013.
It appears on the new DVD/Blu-ray L'Animation
Indépendante Japonaise, Volume 1.
Mizushiri’s most recent film, Snow
Hut (かまくら, 2013), made the Jury Selection at this year’s Japan
Media Arts Festival.
Ninja and Soldier (2012)
Experimental
animator Isamu Hirabayashi has followed
up the success of his animated short 663114
(2011) with another computer animation, Ninja
and Soldier. The central characters,
two eight-year-old boys, are drawn in a child-like crayon scrawl on an elegant
background straight out of traditional Japanese art. The film explores human nature through the
eyes of children. Ninja and Soldier screened at the 2013 Berlinale and at Image Forum
Festival 2013.
Recruit Rhapsody (就活狂想曲, 2012)
It was hard
to choose my favourites from among the strong works from Geidai animation grads,
but Maho Yoshida’s clever depiction
of the annual Shūkatsu Kyōsōkyoku job
hunt certainly tops my list of Geidai faves.
Read
my review here.
Red Colored Bridge (2012)
In his
characteristic brightly coloured style, the renowned pop artist Keiichi Tanaami uses the symbolic red
bridge to heaven found in traditional Japanese gardens to take us on a
psychedelic, erotic, and spiritual journey into his imagination. This film can be found on L'Animation
Indépendante Japonaise, Volume 1.
Maze (2012)
With their
latest film TOCHKA (Takeshi Nagata and Kazue Monno) have come up with yet another innovative new way to
showcase their PiKA PiKA animation: on a grid pattern of 12x4 squares. A team of assistants with different coloured
lights act like pixilated Bunraku performers colouring in and around the blocks
with light. This film required
meticulous planning and choreography. My favourite moment is the Pac-Man
inspired sequence where a yellow arrow and a couple of stars negotiate a
maze. This film can be found on the recently
released DVD/Blu-ray L'Animation
Indépendante Japonaise, Volume 1.
Columbos (Kawai + Okamura, 2012)
Hiroki Okamura and Takumi Kawai, better known as
Kawai + Okamura (カワイオカムラ), are a creative duo who both teach at
the Kyoto University of Art and Design. Columbos is a reimagining of the
legendary television detective Columbo
with puppets. It is a unique puppet
animation unlike anything I have ever seen before with unbelievable use of
lighting, special effects, and choreography of figures. This film appears on the new DVD/Blu-ray L'Animation
Indépendante Japonaise, Volume 1.
While the Crow Weeps (カラスの涙, 2013)
Sukimaki Animation (Makiko Sukikara and Kohei Matsumura) were awarded the New Face
Award at the Japan Media Arts Festival for their atmospheric short While the Crow Weeps. This
hauntingly beautiful depiction of crows is like an Edgar Allan Poe poem come to
life.
Airy Me (2013)
Dream-pop
singer Cuushe
(have a listen on soundcloud) has
some of the coolest tie-in art and videos around and Airy
Me is my current favourite. Animated
by Yoko Kuno, the same artist who designed
the cover art for Cuushe’s latest album Butterfly
Case, the music video takes us on a dizzying journey into psychosis. Watch it
for yourself on Vimeo.
Anomalies (Atsushi Wada, 2013)
Award-winning
CALF animator Atsushi Wada’s latest
film was funded by Animate Projects, the UK’s “only
arts charity in the UK dedicated to championing experiments in animation” via
its online exhibition space and screenings on Channel 4’s Random Acts. Anomalies is part of the group commission
Secret
Monsters. Drawn in Wada’s characteristic
style, Anomalies has a faster pace
than his earlier films but long-time Wada fans will recognize the characters and
themes. Watch it
here.
Yamasuki Yamazaki (やますき、やまざき, 2013)
A joyous
celebration of the female form, Shishi
Yamazaki’s Yamasuki Yamazaki is a
sensual delight. Inspired by female
curves, cherry blossoms, and the music of Jean Kluger and Daniel Vangarde (father of Daft Punk's Thomas Bangalter), it is the only film I have ever seen that succeeds
in making the act of defecation look almost lovely. Watch for yourself on Vimeo.
Little Ojisan (aka Mini Oyajiちいさなおじさん, 2012-present)
This minimalist short-short animated series was adapted by Noi
Asano from his manga series The Diary
of Little Ojisan (ちいさいおやじ日記 / Chiisai
Oyaji Nikki, 2008-present) and airs on Chiba TV. The series stars a Tom Thumb-esque character
in the form of a middle-aged businessman. His adventures begin when a young girl finds
him under a leaf on a rainy day and adopts him.
The comic vignettes play on the absurd role reversal of the
mini-businessman and the girl. Odd but
strangely engaging, I like the simplicity of the pencil on white drawings. Sample episodes can be found on Little Ojisan’s official Youtube
Channel.
Wonder (ワンダー, 2013)
A Wind Egg (空の卵, 2012)
Ryo Ōkawara is another Geidai animation
programme graduate whose work is improving with each new film. His deeply disturbing but captivating short A Wind Egg won the Lotte Reiniger
Promotion Award for Animated Film at the Stuttgart Trickfilm Festival in 2013. Read my
review here.
Catherine
Munroe Hotes 2013
