Animation That Makes Kids Crazy

Anime Supernova.

Anime Supernova showcases the brightest stars exploding onto Japan's animation scene!

This time, we're featuring Morishita Yusuke, a creator who specializes in visual content for children.

Morishita uses simple, friendly character designs and easy-to-follow animation to put together his calming worldview.

Morishita is currently a freelance artist working on animations for children TV programs and original pieces.

Children are in the middle
of experiencing life.

I want to create works that inspire children
by bringing out their curiosity.

Let's take a look at the three elements of Morishita's artistry.

The first is, "Cartoonish simplicity."

Morishita was a child who loved drawing cartoons and building plastic models.

For a college class, he created a stop-motion animation using clay figures.

There was a specific reason Morishita used clay for this piece.

When I was in elementary school,
I took part in the illustration club.

I stopped drawing after, so I never thought
I was capable as an illustrator.

An animation festival in Hiroshima became Morishita's turning point.

When I saw the international works
at the festival, I thought “This is it.” I was shocked to see basic drawings
being both well animated and enjoyable.

At the festival, Morishita was exposed to Cartoon-style animation.

Cartoons refer to animations and comics aimed toward children, characterized by exaggerated character designs and movements.

Cartoons have easy-to-recognize designs.

Character and objects are formed
with simple shapes like triangles.

I find silhouettes to be
the most appealing part of cartoons.

After graduating college, Morishita became an animation production assistant.

At 26, he created an original work during his off time.

One of the two protagonists has a large, square-shaped silhouette.

The other has a simple silhouette drawn with inverted triangles.

Distinct characteristics
memorable by just a glance.

I designed the characters
with exaggerated shapes and silhouettes.

Bring out personality
through character design.

This humorous work is about a detective chasing after three clumsy thieves.

Now, back to the elements of Morishita's artistry, The second is, "Comic-inspired animation."

In 2016, Morishita decided to animate The Restaurant of Many Orders, a short story by Japanese author Miyazawa Kenji.

The story follows two men and their terrible experience at a strange restaurant.

Morishita started by turning the story into a comic.

With comics, in just one frame you need to
express situations with character poses.

When starting from a comic, the poses
make animating the characters easier.

By turning the story into a comic, Morishita was able to better visualize which scenes would be appealing as animations.

He was also focused on using comic-like expression when animating character movement.

I added a lot more seasoning
when animating the story.

Color and movement leads to more intensity,
and I decided to lean in to that aspect.

For example, characters' legs roll up like snails when running.

And when the characters are startled, Morishita uses cartoon-style exaggeration.

I like how comics express action
through symbolic movement and poses.

Expression through symbolized action.

A century-old children's classic is revived in this modern animated version.

Two hunters lost their way in a forest.

They found a restaurant, Wildcat House.

One hunter said, "I'm hungry. We can eat here."

They read a message on the door.

It said, "We have many orders. Please understand."

In the restaurant, the hunters saw many messages.

The messages said, "Put your guns on the table," "Take off your clothes,"

and, "Put salt and vinegar on your bodies."

"That's strange," one hunter said.

"We're not making orders. Those messages are orders from this restaurant!"

"That means... Oh, no! We're the food!"

Then the hunters saw two shiny eyes in two big keyholes of the door.

"Those eyes are watching us!"

Once again, the elements of Morishita's artistry.

The third is, "Attract kids with 'Wow.'" Across his numerous works aimed at children, Morishita has kept a specific focus.

I do my best to include surprising situations
that will make children go “Wow!” The moments they suddenly find interest.

If there aren’t any surprising scenes,
children will find it boring.

Surprise the children.

In pursuit of expression to surprise children, Morishita created a new shooting stand for stop-motion animation.

He installed five panes of glass so he could film different layers of material.

The camera is placed at the top.

He uses a technique where he lights scenes from below.

This allows for something like an animated shadow play.

Shadow puppetry is an artform
created through blocking out light.

It’s fascinating how the light leaks out
or silhouettes block out the light.

How you use or block out light
leads to those “Wow!” moments.

Morishita sculpted characters using black paper and cellophane cutouts.

Black paper blocks out the light and creates the character outlines.

Cellophane adds colors to the characters.

This method gives the visuals a stained-glass look.

He then shoots the character movements frame by frame.

This technique also allows for three-dimensional background placement.

For example, he represented an ice cave by placing toy gems on the fourth level.

And for the scenes with penguins swimming in the water… He placed blue plastic sheets on top.

This way, Morishita could depict an underwater scene by giving the characters and background a blue tint.

I love the way the plastic sheet
adds colors to the overlapped parts.

The light shining through
is the best part.

Using shadows can expand
the range of expression.

In this work, the main character, a giraffe, interacts with a variety of animals.

Morishita is currently planning a new original work.

It's an adventure about a shy lion and a timid whale.

Right now, Morishita is drawing detailed image boards and taking time to build the story.

In terms of my future goal, I want to create stories that move people.

Create stories
that resonate.