Matt Schley
August 14, 2024 
Belladonna of Sadness is one of the most unique anime films out there—the erotic surrealist art film, released in 1973, is mostly “animated” with still paintings, making for a trippy visual experience.
Now Kuni Fukai, the 89-year-old painter behind those visuals, is planning to crowdfund a book featuring his paintings from the film.
That’s the word from the artist’s new X account, on which he writes:
x Greetings, I am Fukai Kuni, a painter.
I will crowdfund to make a restored art book of the film “Belladonna of Sorrows,” for which I was the art director in 1971.
This is my first art book at the age of 89.There are many fans, including overseas.I am very grateful.
I still paint every day, and my days are filled with new discoveries and enjoyment. In order to record a little of my daily life, I have started a new website, “x” and “instagram”.I will keep up with it at my own pace, but I look forward to your support.
After many years in obscurity, Belladonna of Sadness received a 4K remaster and rerelease in 2016, and was just released on disc by Discotek this year. Here’s how they describe it:
Jeanne had hoped that her wedding day would be a dream—a shining light through the oppressive fog of Dark Age France. Yet, that fantasy was horrifically ripped apart on her wedding night. While trying to survive in her waking nightmare, Jeanne encounters an impish apparition who offers to grant her power beyond her wildest wishes. But as the belladonna’s influence grows, so does the tragedy lying in wait to trample her. The great Eiichi Yamamoto weaves a tapestry of harrowing horrors and psychedelically sexual visions in the final entry of Mushi Production’s Animerama trilogy.
Source: ANN
