Matt Schley
March 19, 2013 March 11th saw the second anniversary of the Great Tohoku Earthquake, the 9.0 magnitude quake that caused a devastating tsunami and nuclear accident in northern Japan.
To help with the continuing charity and aid effort in the region, two anime-related shorts were released on the anniversary.
One, entitled “Psychedelic Afternoon,” features a song written by David Byrne (Talking Heads) and Ryuichi Sakamoto, best known in the anime world for his Wings of Honneamise soundtrack. The animation was produced by the husband-and-wife animators Uruma Delvi, whose short “Bottom-biting Bug” was a giant hit in Japan.
The second, called “Blossom,” was directed by Yutaka Yamamoto, aka Yamakan, the director behind the famous Haruhi Suzumiya dance and Fractale.
Said Yamamoto, “After the tsunami hit, I traveled several times to volunteer on the ground in Tōhoku to bring relief to the victims. The struggle with this disaster will be with us for ages and we will need to provide relief in all sorts of ways so that the region can be reborn. I hope the world will enjoy ‘Blossom.’”
Both videos were created and distributed thanks to Zapuni LLC, a new company devoted to “bring[ing] good things to children affected by disaster.” They encourage donations to the charity School Music Revival, whose mission is to repair or replace musical instruments damaged in schools in northern Japan.
Source: BoingBoing
This story originally ran in the 3/19/13 issue of the Otaku USA e-News newsletter. If you’re not on the mailing list, then you’re reading it late! Click here to join.
Related Posts
