Ani*Kuri15

15 one-minute shorts created by various people from Japan's animation industry. The title of the collection, Ani*Kuri15, is abbreviated from the words "anime" and "creators".

Season One
Shinji Kimura (Studio 4°C; Art Director, Steamboy) - title: Attack of Higashimachi Ni Chome/Attack of Higashimachi 2nd Burough
Shōjirō Nishimi (Studio 4°C; Character Designer, Tekkonkinkreet) - Uchujin Raikou Hiroshi no Baai/Invasion from Space - Hiroshi's Case
Akemi Hayashi (Gainax; Character Designer, Fruits Basket) - Namida no Mukou/From the Other Side of the Tears
Osamu Kobayashi (Madhouse; Art/Mecha Desgin, Gungrave) - Sancha Blues/The Aromatic Tea Blues
Yasufumi Soejima (Gonzo; 3D/CG Director, Last Exile) - Hyotoko/Blaze Man

Season Two
Atsushi Takeuchi (Production I.G; Mecha Design, Ghost in the Shell) - Wandaba Kiss
Mamoru Oshii (Production I.G; Director, Ghost in the Shell) - Project Mermaid
Kazuto Nakazawa (Studio 4°C; First Unit Director, Kill Bill Chapter 3: The Origin of O-Ren from Kill Bill: Volume 1) - "yurururu" ~Nichijou Hen~
Ranji Murata (Gonzo; Character Design, Blue Submarine No. 6) and Tatsuya Yabuta (Gonzo; Story Design, Final Fantasy VII) - Gyrosopter
Tobira Oda (Original Manga, Danchi Tomō) and Yasuyuki Shimizu (Key Animation, Naruto (movies)) (Studio 4°C) - Supaatsu Taisa/Colonel Sports

Season Three
Michael Arias (Studio 4°C; Director, Tekkonkinkreet) - Okkakekko
Makoto Shinkai (Comix Wave Film; Director, The Place Promised in Our Early Days) - Neko no Shuukai/A Gathering of Cats
Shōji Kawamori (Satelight; Director, The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love?) - Project Omega
Mahiro Maeda (Gonzo; Director, Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo) - Onmitsu Hime/Princess Onmitsu
Satoshi Kon (Madhouse; Director, Paprika) - Ohayō/Good Morning

Narrator Supporting

Watanabe, Toshio Japanese

Announcer Supporting

Kanda, Aika Japanese

Wada, Jouji Producer

Itou, Kouichirou Producer

Matsuo, Ryouichirou Producer

Fujio, Tsutomu Producer

Reviews

Jun 22, 2021

PingPongYa

Recommended

Really cool to see 15 different animators work with only 60 seconds to make something creative and memorable. A few were better than others, but they were all great.

Story: 7/10
No story to be exact, not much to tell in just 60 seconds. But the time they did have conveyed a lot of ideas and emotions and you could feel what each animator wanted to show with their project.

Art: 10/10
I loved the different styles of each animator. Nothing was the same and each had their own unique charm. Very nice and pleasant to watch.

Sound: 8/10
The music and different voice acting that each animator presented were ... all very different and worked very well with their pieces. I loved it.

Character: 7/10
Nice diversion of casts and stories between animators. Very interesting to see everyone's creative process.

Enjoyment: 8/10
I enjoyed it quite a lot. There was a lot of diversity within each animator's parts, and they were great to watch. I have followed a few that particularly perked my interest and will continue to watch what they create in the future.

Overall: 7/10
It was a nice and quick watch. Definitely something I'd recommend to see in your free time, just to see the different creativity in many people's favourite artists.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Aug 17, 2012

Shioxus

Recommended

This review only covers each short, not the entirety of the work. With creations like these, it is hard to review the work as a whole. So I will dissect the work into 15 parts.

The Secret Princess (5)- This might appeal to people who like very random things like Lucky Star. True, this whole 15 minute series is random in general, but this short is especially so. Art is average at best, sound is more of a late 80's to mid 90's retro sound. Too random for my taste, but others have rated it higher.

Gyrosopter (7)- I'm not a huge fan of CG anime, but ... I liked this one. Not much of a story, even compared to some of the other shorts, but I really enjoyed the music. If you have read any of my other reviews, you will have discovered that sound is often a make or break point for me.

Amusement Park Kiss (7)- I enjoyed the little sound effects accompanying the movement. Not anything really high quality, but it contributed to the fun factor. Pretty high entertainment value for this viewer. Cute too. Not really the art style I usually enjoy, but that didn't disrupt the overall fun aspect of the short.

Beyond the Tears (8)- Once again the soundtrack (a whole one song) won me over, but there was also a small story behind it too. I won't lie, I didn't really understand it. My interpretation was that it was about many girls having a bad day and suffering, so they are crying. However, it ends with a smile showing that the rough times won't last forever. For one minute it had a nice story.

Project Mermaid (9)- The background artwork was refreshing. The soundtrack was nice and fit the setting, but for once it was the art that one me over. I didn't like the use of a photo of a real person for the mermaid personally, but I have to admit it was a direction few animators take. Very impressed with the background art for the most part, and even more so for the last few seconds. Did I mention the artwork?

Frolicking (6)- The background music used wind instruments as a focal point. That was refreshing, but the children's screaming as they... well as they frolicked, was too strong and overpowered the music.

Good Morning (8)- I really appreciated this portrayal of morning. When you wake up you feel sluggish like you aren't quite awake yet, right? This short separated the character into two. One that is what she is actually doing, and the other is doing the same things but it takes her longer to get started. Once she's awake and alert, both parts join. Very cool concept, and you have to love Satoshi Kon's art style. For once not much to say about sound. Pretty average music, just with the tiniest touch of Satoshi Kon's usual accompaniment (slightly warped instrumentals).

Sports Colonel (4)- Don't take this rating to seriously. The short didn't leave much of an impression on me so there's not much for me to say about it. Some people seem to have enjoyed it.

A Gathering Of Cats (9)- Shinkai's art has always held my interest. Another of my favorite animators, I could rate this a 6 on art alone. The sound effects were done well enough, and the music fit the scenes. So lets bump it up to a 7. Now add the enjoyable hi-jinks of indecisive household cats, and you have a nice shiny number 9. Seriously though, great humor!

Alien Invasion - Hiroshi's Circumstances (7)- As far as my favorite topic of sound, the sound effects were a blast. I enjoyed the emphasis each sound effect had, and it really added to this short experience. The art was unique, although it wasn't something I particularly enjoyed, I can see others liking it readily enough. The only complaint I have is that not much happened as compared to the other shorts. It took a little too much time with each action, and so it felt shorter somehow.

Yurururu ~Daily Chapter~ (10)- The casual jazz music was a lot of fun, and seeing the animation process was very interesting, specifically to me since I love learning more about the production of animation. There was great humor in it too, especially when he tried to play a joke on co-worker. "Joke"..... "Aborted". This was my favorite of the 15 shorts. The problem with reviewing these is that every person has a differing opinion on anime, art, and production... and each of these are very different in those regards.

Project Omega (5)- Not much to say about this short. As a whole, I wasn't particularly impressed, but it had some of the best comedy in these shorts.

Heat Man (3)- Gyrosopter's CG was simple, but clear. This was blurry and the animations weren't as fluid as they seemed. While at first glance there may be a sense of great CG, it shouldn't take more than a second to see how unfortunately ugly this short is.

Attack of The Azuma Area #2 (6)- Music matched the silliness of the short, and the sound effects were good enough. The art design was clever too, but I just couldn't like this. I really wanted too, but something was missing.

Sancha Blues (10)- The actual speech by the characters flowed casually like a real conversation between two people, and despite what people may believe, that is actually a hard thing to accomplish in voice acting. There were references to actual music groups as well, and while I don't listen to them, it was a good cultural touch. I like the animation and art style here too, and all in all this came in a close 2nd to Yurururu.

As I stated in one of the reviews of a short, it is hard to professionally review something like this, because the different styles will grab one person's attention, while completely different styles will attract others. In the end, it's all a matter of opinion. That being said.....

One of the better ways to pass 15 minutes.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Jun 23, 2023

DISKOWN

Mixed Feelings

AniKuri15, a captivating compilation of 15 short films from several diverse studios, offers a glimpse into a world where abstract visuals and animation dominate the limited runtime. While a few episodes display dated CGI, such instances are primarily confined to their respective episodes. The series presents an array of distinct art styles and visually engaging animations, with numerous shorts deserving high praise. However, unless you possess a deep passion for animation, AniKuri15 proves challenging to recommend due to its specialized content that caters to the discerning tastes of animation enthusiasts.

My personal favorites include "Hidden Princess," "Good Morning," "The Assassin Comes to Hunt in the Mountains!!," ... and "A Gathering of Cats."

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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