NHK Minna no Uta, broadcast from April to May 2025 This animation was created to accompany the song “Yūyake ga Umareru Machi,” by Ikimono Gakari meets Humbert Humbert. It was made with feelings of love for one’s hometown where one was born and raised, the resolve to keep moving forward on one’s own path, and pride in the life one has walked so far. The video posted here is an excerpt without audio. Please be sure to watch the full version with audio on the broadcast.

We produced the opening video used for the 2022 VALORANT Champions Tour Challengers Japan Stage 2 – Playoff Finals, the official tournament for the tactical FPS game VALORANT, held at Saitama Super Arena. With Japanese teams achieving success on the world stage and the first offline tournament with a live audience being held, we aimed to create a work that evokes the “dawn” of Japan’s esports scene. In addition, drawing from “time,” an important element within VALORANT, we built anticipation for the start of the event with a countdown timer modeled after the in-game UI. By using footage and audio from past tournaments in chronological order, the piece suggests that time is gradually moving toward the present. As for the sound design, because this was a shooting game filled with intense exchanges and a large-scale offline tournament realized after overcoming the chaos of the COVID-19 pandemic, we placed greater emphasis than usual on aggressive sounds. Since this was the deciding match to determine Japan’s representative team, we incorporated chords that evoke a sense of Japanese harmony, as well as sounds sampled from instruments of gagaku, traditional Japanese court music.

Abandoning comprehension, it aims to visualize a chaotic dance. At the same time, it seeks to lure the viewer into pleasure through the music’s bounce and immersive quality.