Umi Ga kikoeru (1993)

Unlike Ghibli Studio's more popular works, Ocean Waves is not a fantastic fairytale adventure or a metaphorical epic on man's relationship with nature.
The story is set in the city of Kōchi, on the Japanese island of Shikoku. It concerns a love triangle that develops between two good friends and Rikako, a new girl who transferred from Tokyo.
Taku travels to his hometown for his high school reunion. During the trip, he recalls the memories of the days in high school. Friendship, subtle love, a trip to Tokyo and so on all came back to him as the film evolves.



Ocean Waves simply focuses on the main characters and tells their story honestly. The dramatic conflicts are real and interesting.
It was directed by Tomomi Mochizuki and was based on the novel of the same title by Saeko Himuro.

Tenshi no Tamago (天使のたまご, 1984)

Angel's Egg incorporates surrealistic and existentialist qualities but very little dialogue, making it a commonly cited example of progressive anime.
The whole film is beautifully animated and designed. The atmosphere is dark: empty streets creates a dreamlike, slightly sinister atmosphere reminiscent of proto-surrealist painters Giorgio deChirico and Dalì. And there is plenty of symbolic Christian imagery: almost the story of Noah's ark takes up a good portion of the sparse dialogue. There are also references to Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey.



In a desolate and dark world full of shadows, lives one little girl: she is the sole protector of a very precious, large egg. A mysterious man enters her life and when he wins her trust, they begin to discuss about the world around them.
Each metaphor spoken and piece of symbolism shown only helps to further deepen the mystery behind the film.
You can read this article about its simbolism.

Hokusai - An Animated Sketchbook (1978)

This award winning short film was written, directed and animated by Tony White who is known for his versatility and range of styles, way back in 1978. His career includes twenty years at Animus Productions/Entertainments as president and founder, seven years at Richard Williams Animation Limited as personal assistant to Richard Williams on A Christmas Carol (Academy Award), five years at Halas and Batchelor as Head of Design, Director, Designer, Animator of numerous projects such as the animated tv series Jackson Five and Tomfoolery, various commercials and short films.

The film brings to life the worlds of Japanese ukiyo master, Katsushika Hokusai (best known for his iconic The Great Wave). Hokusai's work is so pervasive in Japanese culture that you can still see it influencing today's artists.
This short British film is a wonderful overview of the artist's life and work and also his philosophy about art. White has used 60 Hokusai prints to animate this wonderful tribute to the artist who called himself the old man mad about drawing.
It deservedly won the BAFTA award in 1979 in the Best Short Factual Film category.

Memory (1964)

Osamu Tezuka was heavily involved with experimental animation and had won several international animation awards, including the Grand Prix for Jumping at the 1984 Zagreb International Festival, the Grand Prix for Broken Down Film at the Hiroshima International Animation Festival, and the CIFEJ award for Legend of the Forest at the 1988 Zagreb International Film Festival.

This short film is a privately produced animated film. It does not look like an anime, using photographs and cut-outs as well as hand-drawn animation. The story develops into a tale of destruction of human beings, turning the existence of the earth into a memory of the universe. It's an insightful look at the psychology of memory in the life of an individual and a culture. How will the initial reality change in the end?

Man and Whale (校長先生とクジラ, 2007)

Greenpeace commissioned Yamamura to make Man and Whale (校長先生とクジラ) as a part of their campaign to end Japanese whaling. Koji Yamamura has only 2 minutes to get his message across and he does so with great subtlety and his usual attention to detail.
Today, only one country in the world continues to conduct whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary: Japan.There was a time in Japan during the food shortage hardships of the postwar period when whale meat was taken as a valuable source of protein. We are alive today thanks in a very real sense to this gift, so should we not reach out in gratitude to whales now and seek a path of peaceful coexistence?
You can buy Koji Yamamura dvd.

Kogepan

Kogepan (こげぱん, Kogepan) is a Japanese character from the company San-X. Kogepan, who lives in a panya (Japanese bakery), is a red bean bread who was accidentally burnt by a careless baker. No one would buy burnt bread or be nice to him, so Kogepan became an outcast with no emotion for others. He runs away from home, gets drunk off milk, smokes, and always says negative things about himself. Disillusioned with life, he roams the bakery making friends and being jealous of other bread items.

The anime series, animated by Studio Pierrot and produced by Pony Canyon, consisted of ten 4-minute shorts, the majority of which introduces simple aspects of the character.
The name comes from kogeru, meaning to burn or char, and pan, a word taken from the Portuguese and meaning bread.
You can download the other episodes, by clicking here.
You can buy Kogepan doll.

Kumo to churippu (1943)

Kenzo Masaoka's The Spider and the Tulip (Kumo to churippu, 1943) is a legendary title which would influence Isao Takahato's works in the future.
This short film reminds one of the style of a "Silly Symphony" and it isn't very original: it doesn't seem Japanese, it's too "American". However, it deserves attention because the animation is particularly brilliant in technique.

UGOKIE-KO-RI-NO-TATEHIKI (動絵狐狸達引, 1933)

The Plane Cabby’s Lucky Day (1932)

There is an abundance of startling creativity and ingenuity in this short. Teizo Kato’s The Plane Cabby’s Lucky Day (1932) describes a 1980 automated Japan where urban transportation takes place in the sky. The plane cab driver espouses traditional values, looking after his mother and maintaining a strong sense of justice.
The futuristic utopian setting is more parallel to the early cartoons of the West. There are politically incorrect images of natives who sing and dance all day because they live in paradise.

Saru Masamune (1930)

People think they know what anime are. How many people are familiar with classic Japanese animations? Japanese films were more conservative then than they are today and they tended to re-assert their own cultural identity and set of values. Many short films glorify the exploits of former military heroes.

In these days, the Japan Society of New York, presents Dawn of Japanese Animation, a screening of 38 animated films, from February 13th through the 16th. If you like anime, you must go to New York. If you can't, don't worry. Mellart will help you. We'll begin with Yasuji Murata's Saru Masamune (1930), based on the legend of how the great Japanese swordsmith, Masamune, received a sword from a tribe of monkeys after rescuing one of them from a hunter with a gun.
You can buy: Animated Classics of Japanese Literature - The Sound of Waves, Parts 1 & 2/ Growing Up, Animated Classics of Japanese Literature - The Izu Dancer, Animated Classics of Japanese Literature: The Harp of Burma/Season of the Sun and Animated Classics of Japanese Literature - Botchan

Byousoku 5 Centimeter (2007)

5 Centimeters Per Second ( Byōsoku Go Senchimētoru), subtitled "a chain of short stories about their distance" is a 2007 Japanese animated feature film by Makoto Shinkai. The film won the Lancia Platinum Grand Prize at the Future Film Festival 2008.
The film consists of three episodes which follow the timeline of Takaki's life. It shows how Tohno Takaki, Shinohara Akari and Kanae Sumida's perspective of life changes from childhood to maturity with regards to the factors of time and distance. The first episode, “Okasho,” shows the day of their reunion. In the next episode, “Cosmonaut,” the story about Takaki after the reunion is shown from the viewpoint of another person. The last episode, “Byosoku 5 centimeter,” clips out the movements of their thoughts.

Tono Takaki had to part from Shinohara Akari after gradation from the elementary school. Despite their secret thoughts, only time has passed. One day, Takaki meets Akari in the heavy snow.
Byousoku 5 Centimeter attempts to present the real world from a different perspective. Makoto's film gives a realistic view of the struggles many face against, time, space, people, and love. The movie is named 5 Centimeters Per Second for the speed at which cherry blossom petals fall, petals being a metaphorical representation of humans, reminiscent of the slowness of life and how people often start together but slowly drift into their separate ways.