Animated the cover of the classic NHK Minna no Uta song “Tanoshii ne.” The song is performed by Amatsuki, whose soaring high-tone vocals have made him hugely popular through his singing videos. The original Minna no Uta animation for “Tanoshii ne” was created by Yoji Kuri, best known for the opening of Hyokkori Hyoutan-jima. Faced with immense pressure and the great honor of taking on this piece, we approached the project with the intention of fully expressing our own worldview. Each individual sound may be small, but when everyone plays together, it becomes a big song. Through play with color, shape, and words, this feeling is conveyed through visual direction that captures the exhilaration of matching images to music, the pleasure of movement and lingering echoes, and the delight of aha moments.

I collaborated with illustrator Soichi on the music video for DUSTCELL’s “Kaen.” It depicts how the “vague dissatisfaction and anxiety about something” that everyone harbors becomes the spark, fueling a fairy-tale-like destructive impulse.

THE BROTHER #STAYHOME with Covid-19 A realistic animated portrayal of life under COVID-19 self-restraint in the countryside A dialogue-driven story about two brothers living in Toyama Prefecture. Older brother: Nii-chan, unemployed, single Younger brother: Bucho, company employee, single