Indie Anime: The Next Big Wave?
In the past month two prominent new anime directors have come to light via YouTube. Is the dawn of a new age for anime upon us?
On November 9th, a 21-year-old animation student by the name of Hiroyasu Ishida posted "Fumiko no Kokuhaku" (Fumiko's Confession) on YouTube. The anime shows a young girl distraught over her failed confession to a boy (who prefers baseball over to her), and what happens when she doesn't see where she's going. It's visually stunning, and funny as hell.
This past week independent animator Kousuke Sugimoto (who has worked on videos for Nightmare, TsuShiMaMiRe and Ketchup mania) posted "The TV Show," a short trippy anime that shows what happens when a simple mistake at a TV station causes a massive amount of chaos on the channel. It's both messed up and hilarious, all at the same time.
If both Ishida and Sugimoto were given a chance (as well as financial backing), these two could possibly conjure up some interesting anime. At least it'd be better than "K-On!"...
