An animated video for “Ai no Hana” by Aimyon, which was used as the theme song for NHK’s 2023 first-half serialized TV drama Ranman. The animation was created using illustrations by picture book author Keiko Shibata, whom Aimyon has long openly praised as a favorite artist. All of the artwork used was newly created by Shibata herself.

To express the way memories are recalled with “static movement,” motion was added to photographic images using generative AI.

Description: Yokai are usually invisible to the eye. But by using an AR app, you can quietly peek into their living world. When people think of yokai, they may imagine them as beings that “scare people.” However, yokai have also long been seen as wind, mountains, and nature itself—beings that gently watch over us humans. This picture book, Mimamori Yokai, features many kind yokai who watch over children. I have loved yokai since I was a child, and I created this story to help my two very timid sons learn about their existence by focusing not on the “dark” side of yokai, but on their “bright” side.