An MV that portrays a hopeless story through thrilling first-person footage from a zombie’s perspective and vivid animation.

This music video is for the lead track from BURNOUT SYNDROMES’ final indie-era album. Built around poetry readings quoting classic works of literature and lyrics by vocalist Kumagai, who spent his school days in a state of frustration and melancholy, the song combines a band arrangement that nonetheless feels uplifting with a wealth of inventive touches that can’t be summed up simply as “downer.” At the suggestion of art director Kawamoto, we were asked to create a lyric video using “letters and a girl motif as the core elements.” So we decided to visualize Kumagai’s gloomy student days, as described in the lyrics, in a straightforward way. Even with typography as the main motif, we wanted it to have a distinctive feel, so we broke down and reconstructed the letter elements to create new characters, and used those elements to depict concrete motifs, putting effort into staging that could captivate viewers through the forms of the typeface alone. The girl’s animation was based on character designs by Kaneko Kaihatsu, then redesigned by Tomoeki Nakauchi, Wataru Uekusa, and koya, with an attempt to change the visual style for each part of the song.

An animation created as the music video for “Close to Me” by in the blue shirt. Drawing on the song’s origins as a work made entirely through sampling and cut-up techniques, the piece interprets rotoscoping as an animation method with the same structural logic. Rotoscoping is a technique that traces live-action footage, allowing the movement of the subject to be directly and vividly reflected on screen. In addition, this work combines stencil-based spray techniques. By incorporating the non-deterministic fluctuations of particles, it seeks to transform the vividness of rotoscoping into the subject’s own indexicality, and to reconfigure it.

SUNTORY「YAMAZAKI MOMENTS」/ Sakanaction「SORATO」/ NHK「Naotora: The Lady Warlord」/ Movie「Tower of the Sun」/ Perfume「Future Pop」/ Kannoya「YUBESHI」/ Mori Building「DESIGNING TOKYO」/ TOYOTA「Harrier Turbo」/ TOYOTA「THE WORLD IS ONE FUTURE」/ TOYOTA「e-RACER」/ TOYOTA「RAIZE」/ Mandom「GATSBY PERFECT SKIN LOTION」/ Kracie「FRISK」/ ONE OK ROCK×Honda Bike「Go, Vantage Point.」/ SQUARE ENIX「Dragon quest of stars」/ dream bed「Serta Brand Movie」/ UHA Mikakuto「e-ma Throat Candy」/ The Claypool Lennon Delirium「satori」/ Pokémon GO「Buddy Adventure!」/ Nintendo「Mario Kart Tour」/ IKEA「RÅSKOG」/ McDonald's「McFlurry Chou Oreo®」/ McDonald's「McFlurry Nama Caramel」/ Human Trust「Igai na basho de saikai」 / SUNTORY「PEPSI JAPAN COLA」/ SUNTORY「Black Oolong Tea」/ GINZA SIX「Main Street」 / Kyary Pamyu Pamyu「Harajuku iyahoi」/ RECRUIT LIFESTYLE「HOT PEPPER GOURMET」/ Kyary Pamyu Pamyu「Sai＆Co」/ KOKUYO「ing」/ FUKUSHIMA「MIRAI 2061」/ Mandom「GATSBY DEODORANT ROLL-ON」