Anime Mirai: The Future Of Animation
Kawamata, Miyashita, Kaiya and Tomonaga | Japan, 2012 | 100 min | Rated PG | HDCAM | Japanese with English subtitles
Saturday November 17, 2021 - 11:00am
Anime Mirai (“the future of animation”) is a collective project from four leading Japanese production studios selected by the Japan Animation Creators Association (JAniCA) under the patronage of the Agency for Cultural Affairs for the purpose of training young animators on the job. The result: four delightful films that point to the future of anime.
Juju the Weightless Dugong | Kawamata Hiroshi | The Answerstudio
A workaholic father repeatedly breaks his promise to take his 5-year-old daughter to the sea, until an inflatable dugong undertakes the task instead.
Pretending Not to See | Miyashita Shinpei | Shirogumi
A 6th grader learns that bullying other kids is as bad as letting it happen, and needs to find the heart to react despite the consequences.
Li’l Spider Girl | Kaiya Toshihisa | Production I.G.
An antiquarian meets with a scared, eight-legged spider girl, and she’s the sweetest thing in the world… or not?
Buta | Tomonaga Kazuhide | Telecom Animation Film
A broke swordsman-for-hire accepts a job to pay the tavern’s bill, only to find himself involved with a pirate ship, a young kid with a map, and a mad scientist.
About Kawamata Hiroshi
Born on March 1st, 1962 in Kanagawa, Japan, Kawamata started his career at Tatsunoko Production, where he joined the production of MACROSS as a key animator. He later moved to TMS Entertainment, where he joined the studio’s Disney team. This experience made him decide to work for shows in full animation as much as possible though limited animation is dominant in Japan. He later joined Walt Disney Animation Japan and worked as animation director on THE TIGGER MOVIE, 101 DALMATIONS 2: PATCH’S LONDON ADVENTURE, PIGLET’S BIG MOVIE and POOH’S HEFFALUMP MOVIE. He directed THE CAT THAT LOOKED AT A KING, an animated short done for the 40th Anniversary DVD Edition of MARY POPPINS (2004). When Walt Disney Animation Japan ceased activity in 2004, Kawamata became one of the founding members of The Answerstudio. His directional credits alsoinclude YANASE TAKASHI MARCHEN THEATER, a live-action and animation TV special called KAWAMO O SUBERU KAZE (The Wind that Blows over the River) for the Japanese public broadcaster, NHK, and RAINBOW MAGIC: RETURN TO RAINSPELL ISLAND (2009) that made him the first ever Japanese director to helm a British animation film.
About Miyashita Shinpei
Born in 1968, he majored in Economics at the Kokugakuin University of Tokyo in march 1992, and joined the Nippon Animation Studio one month later. Here he worked in a number of popular family TV shows aired in the World Masterpiece Theatre slot by Fuji Television, and contributed episodic direction in the TV hit CHIBI MARUKO-CHAN. In 1998 he made his directorial debut with the children TV series HANASAKA TENSHI TENTEN-KUN. In 2006 he served as animation director in the feature film, DORAEMON: NOBITA’S DINOSAUR (2006). PRETENDING NOT TO SEE is based on the same-title illustrated book by Shunsaku and Keiko Umeda.
About Kaiya Toshihisa
Born on June 1, 1967, Toshihisa Kaiya joined Asia-Do as an inbetweener in 1986. He debuted as a key animator for the TV series MOERU! ONIISAN (1988). After becoming a freelancerhe worked in the feature films JIN-ROH (2000, key animator - WFAC 2001 Selection) and MIND GAME (2004, key animator - WFAC 2005 Selection). In 2005 he contributed character designs for the TV series IGPX, an international co-production between Production I.G and Cartoon Network. In 2009 he was key animation supervisor for the feature film, TALES OF VESPERIA: THE FIRST STRIKE. LI’L SPIDER GIRL (2012) marks Kaya’s directorial debut. He likes Japanese ghost stories and especially worships Inagawa Junji, an actor famous for his ghost storytelling.
About Tomonaga Kazuhide
Born in 1952, Tomonaga is a highly respected veteran in the Japanese animation scene. He started his career in 1971 at studio Tiger Production, at the time involved in TV anime classics such as DEVILMAN (1972), MAZINGER Z (1973) and SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO (1974). In 1975 he moved to OH Productions, where he worked as animator in UFO ROBOT GRENDIZER (1975), GALAXY EXPRESS 999 (1978) and Hayao Miyazaki’s masterpiece, LUPIN III: CASTLE OF CAGLIOSTRO (1979). In 1980 he joined Telecom Animation Film, where he notably worked as animation director in LITTLE NEMO (1986), lead animator in Miyazaki’s SHERLOCK HOUND (1980) and Yasuo Otsuka’s LUPIN III: THE FUMA’S CONSPIRACY (1987). In 1990 he was lead animator of Steven Spielberg-produced TINY TOONS ADVENTURES (1990). During the years, he contributed his skills for several titles in the Lupin III franchise.
Juju the Weightless Dugong (c) 2012, The Answerstudio
Pretending Not To See (c) 2012, Shirogumi
Lil’ Spider Girl (c) 2012, Production I.G.
Buta (c) 2012, Telecom Animation Film
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