:anime: Free/Low-Cost Anime Pick of the Month:: Independant Shorts!

It should probably come as little surprise given the first Directory update that this month's anime picks happen to be two short works both done primarily by one single person. Such is the case with Kousuke Sugimoto's "the TV show" and Hiroyasu "Tete" Ishida's YouTube Video Awards Japan-winning "Fumiko's Confession". Watching both of these videos, along with Makoto Shinkai's Voices of a Distant Star and Atsuya Uki's recent Cencoroll in the past, you really do appreciate and awe at the talent, creativity, and execution they display in constructing their personal creations (Ishida did have some assistance with the backgrounds, 3D graphics, and in-between animation, but still handled every aspect of the animation production himself). I already went into detail about both shorts in the Directory and the Update information- and opinion-wise, so won't repeat things here, but I will still give a little quip about each below. The videos are less than 3-1/2 minutes long, so please do give them a look, as well as both artist's YouTube channels.


the TV show

Creator: Kousuke Sugimoto
Artist Sites: Personal Site, YouTube Channel
Additional Links: Directory Link, Directory Update Link, ANN Article
Video [Free]: YouTube

Fun and finely-animated, matched perfectly with Takuya Manabe's catchy music. Quite hard to believe that Sugimoto is only 26 and self-taught...

Nominated in the YouTube Video Awards Japan 2009 contest in the Music category.


Fumiko's Confession

Creator: Hiroyasu Ishida
Artist Sites: Gallery Site, pixiv Profile, YouTube Channel
Additional Links: Directory Link, Directory Update Link, ANN Article
Video [Free]: YouTube

Simple, funny, and well-animated, "Fumiko's Confession" looks more like something a studio did rather than one twentysomething student. Certainly deserving of YT-JP Awards's top prize in "Anime".


As an added bonus, ANN compiled a list here of the nominated videos, both of the above and the eventual "Music" winner ("Hibi no Neiro") included. Also, I throw out a link again to Hiroyasu Ishida's "rain town" PV, which I continue to adore to no end.