The work begins with the idea of portraying the virtual singer “Hika-ji” as a being that contains multiple layers of wounds, and visualizing a sense of life that includes her fluctuations and fragility. Set in a seashore, a symbolic space of transience, the work layers the continuous flow of time in animation with fragments of time captured in film photographs, bringing forth both emotions that keep flowing and memories that remain still. Through physical alterations to the photographs and the use of blurring effects, the work attempts to abstractly visualize the sensation of experiences etched within her, surfacing as layered traces.

A glimpse of a Bon dance contest held night after night in a corner of the shrine by the gourds.

This is the second Genshin fan movie produced at the request of HoYoFair, Genshin Impact’s official fan creation channel. In the first installment, I focused on the characters’ in-game performance, so this time I built the piece around emphasizing each character’s background and traits, and then showing, through their shared commonalities, pairings that never interact in the game. I hope it became a work that makes fans think, “I wish interactions like this really existed.”

This film was created primarily through location shooting and CG match-move compositing, carrying on the imagery of the previous work, “INNOSENT in FORMAL / Ai ja Takaramono feat. Chipleus.” By weaving in elements that evoke fish and an underwater atmosphere, along with driving imagery, we aimed to capture a sense of summer nostalgia and emotion. It was made so that viewers could feel the uplifting appeal of the song through the back-and-forth exchange between the band’s vocalist, Paul, and PES.