The story unfolds as it moves back and forth between two worlds connected to te’resa, leading up to their encounter. Its lavish direction and graphics are also highlights.

In January 2014, Kanzaki Iori made his debut as a Vocaloid producer by posting “Hankōki,” and in June 2021, he began his full-fledged music career as a self-vocal artist. On July 23, he held his first solo concert, “Kanzaki Iori First Performance: ‘Bukiyō na Otoko’.” This video is a music video edited from part of that live performance.

This is “Imaginary Friend,” a song provided by Seiko Oomori, presented as the second collaboration project in “Kumikyoku,” a collaboration initiative launched by virtual singer KAF, centered around collaborations with real-world artists and composers.

With “love,” a feeling familiar to teenagers as romantic affection, as the starting point, the protagonist shares empathy and experiences with friends. The protagonist’s everyday reality, and the chain of gratitude and emotions (small acts of “love”) that arise from being encouraged by friends, unfold in a poetic inner world. The desire to cherish someone or something is supported and nurtured by friends, eventually blossoming into something real and helping them overcome worries and hardships. In the end, they share music with their friends in a choral style, connecting with one another. This animation expresses a story that goes beyond romance, culminating in a larger “love” as affection toward friends, family, and other close ones.

We created this piece at the request of Sukima Switch, who asked for “the opening movie of a fictional animated work.” The video is themed around a protagonist struggling to change himself, but since it is an opening sequence for a fictional animation, we also incorporated visualizer-like elements and were mindful of the distance between sound and image in the production. For the dance scene in the chorus, we used a technique called rotoscoping. Only the dancers’ movements, captured simultaneously with multiple cameras, were traced, and the dance sequence was completed by connecting different angles through a transforming character. The dance scene’s background was also created based on CG, and combined with the subtly shifting camera angles, it helped create a surreal space.

Struggling with love or work, hanging out with friends, fighting with a boyfriend, going shopping, and sometimes having days when you just want to cry alone... Within the whirlwind of everyday life, the many emotions that overflow are vividly depicted, and the power and emotion of girls who switch gears each day and keep moving forward are beautifully expressed by the actress Maryjun Takahashi in this special movie.

Natsuki, the protagonist, lives alone in a two-room, two-kitchen public housing apartment. There are all kinds of things happening in the outside world, but the home she has filled little by little with things she loves is her own “castle.” It depicts places where adult women can return to their true selves, and the world of longing they continue to hold in their hearts.

The video is packed with highlights, including scenes of Awich dancing with dancer/choreographer RIEHATA and top dancers in striking, colorful costumes.