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Kannagi's Yamakan Unveils Quake Charity Anime blossom
posted on by Ko Ransom
Director Yutaka Yamamoto (Kannagi, Fractale) unveiled blossom, the March 11 charity animation short from his anime studio Ordet, during a presentation this Saturday at the Tokyo International Anime Fair (TAF). Aside from being the name of this particular anime short, "blossom" also refers to an overall project initiative involving producers and artists from both Japan and overseas.
As the first effort in the "blossom" project, the five-minute animated short follows young girls with wings who watch over older men and women trying to revive a vast piece of land in ruins, with no vegetation or homes. The music for the short is performed by the Icelandic rock band Sigur Rós, and the character designer and chief animation director is Sunao Chikaoka (Fractale, The IDOLM@STER). Yamamoto's studio Ordet animated the short with 3D CG created by SANZIGEN.
Yamamoto stated that for him, the short is a "personal love letter to Tohoku" (northeast Japan), and was reportedly moved to tears during the presentation. He also stated that he hopes the short will prevent people's memory of the Great East Japan Earthquake (Higashi Nihon Daishinsai) disaster from fading away.
Yamamoto (or as he is known, "Yamakan") had expressed his desire to deal with the disaster in his next work. This past year, he has been joining anime fans and itasha (decorated car) owners in going to offer relief aid to Shichigahama, the tsunami-devastated hometown of Kannagi manga creator Eri Takenashi. (The town and the local Hanabushi shrine inspired the backdrop seen in the Kannagi anime.) Crunchyroll will stream blossom outside Japan later this year.
Source: Mainichi Shimbun's Mantan Web
Image © blossom/Ordet
