Description: To help young people discover the appeal of becoming a tax accountant and aspire to the profession, this piece was created in an RPG-style animation. It was produced to convey the many facets of the tax accountant profession through game-like skills and traits unique to the role, such as defeating daunting tasks (bosses) with a huge workload and overcoming difficulties brilliantly with knowledge (magic). Effects, sound effects, and BGM were used to boost that image and add to the player’s sense of excitement. Incidentally, generative AI was used in part of the background illustration production.

Upopoy, Japan’s first national facility dedicated to sharing the history and culture of the Ainu people, opened in Shiraoi, Hokkaido on Sunday, July 12. Comprising a folklore museum, an interactive field museum, and an Ainu symbiosis park, it has drawn attention as a base for reviving and developing the Ainu culture that is gradually being lost. What JKD was responsible for this time was the large-scale projection mapping and lighting show that began on Saturday, July 18, and serves as the highlight of Upopoy’s night program. Through a delicate yet dynamic hand-drawn full animation running just under 14 minutes, synchronized with soul-stirring music and sound design, it depicts the Ainu creation myth. The visuals are projected mainly onto the walls of the dome-shaped Experience Exchange Hall, as well as onto the surrounding hills, river, and statues. Lighting placed throughout the expansive grounds is tightly synchronized with the music and mapped imagery, creating a fantastical spatial presentation that draws viewers into the story. Among the audio-visual works JKD has produced so far, this one ranks in the top three. The music was created by OKI, the world-renowned musician known for the OKI Dub Ainu Band, and Kuniyuki Takahashi, also based in Sapporo and known internationally for his work. To approach truly authentic expression, the animators—Ryoji Yamada, Hana Ono, Yutaro Kubo, and Tatsuhiro Ariyoshi—took on the project in a serious collaborative effort. The opening and ending motion were handled by Shotaro Tomiyama and Ko Kudo of the JKD visual team, and the overall visual direction was led by Shane Lester. The story of the Ainu creation myth unfolds across the vast grounds facing a beautiful lake. We hope we were able to create an experience that truly draws people in. If you ever have the chance to visit Hokkaido, please be sure to see it. (Through 8/30: daily except Mondays. From September onward: every Saturday and Sunday, and on public holidays at night, several screenings after sunset)

We planned and produced a special movie to coincide with the launch of shu uemura’s Christmas limited-edition collection featuring artist Takashi Murakami’s “Flower” artwork. The concept was “Tokyo Wrapping.” The story follows a female protagonist and a spherical drone character as they fly all around the sleeping streets of Tokyo, wrapping the city in ribbons adorned with Murakami’s art. Murakami himself also made a cameo appearance. The film was created using a technique based on light painting, in which light is moved while the camera shutter speed is slowed to draw trails, and shot with a piece of equipment called a pixel stick. Through the dancers’ elegant yet dynamic movements as they manipulated the stick, the film depicts ribbons being wrapped around the city of Tokyo. The director was Genki Ito, one of the most acclaimed visualists in the creative scene. This brand movie was born from a chemical reaction between Ito’s aesthetic sensibility and JKD Collective, inspired by Takashi Murakami’s art.

A convenience store in a rural town. Everyone who gathered there liked to drink the same beverage. A strange incident begins to occur in that town, where people disappear, leaving only their clothes behind. The sheriff spots a suspicious man on a full-moon night, but... A music video for Toma Baba’s “PRIME,” combining paper three-dimensional puppetry by Shotaro Kitada with cutout animation by Moji Tsuchiya.