Sometimes, the most fulfilling and intriguing stories are told in bitesize animated films. It is these shorts that helped establish some of the greatest talent in the anime industry like Makoto Shinkai and Yoh Yoshinari. Here are some of the best anime short films that received worldwide recognition for their memorable storylines and artistic flair.
Little Witch Academia
In Little Witch Academia, Atsuko "Akko" Kagari, an outgoing and cheery young witch, dreams of becoming a witch like Shiny Chariot, even though Shiny Chariot is looked down upon by other witches. Akko isn’t the brightest when it comes to magic studies, but when a dragon is unleashed from its seal, she proves to everyone she's capable of being a great witch. Little Witch Academia was one of the films sponsored by the Young Animator Training Project in 2013, which is an annual animation project funded by Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs. Filled with quirkiness and charm, Little Witch Academia was highly praised worldwide. As a result, Trigger produced a longer sequel film, Little Witch Academia: The Enchanted Parade, in 2015 and an anime series in 2017.
Kakurenbo: Hide & Seek
Shuhei Morita’s Kakurenbo is centered on a children’s game called “otokoyo,” a hide-and-seek game where kids wear fox masks and hide from demons. In an abandoned and dilapidated Kowloon-like town, seven children play the game of “otokoyo.” To win, one child must reach the center of the city where the battery tower is or else get caught by the demons. Morita transforms an innocent child’s game of hide-and-seek into a “life or death” survival game and creates an unsettling mood through the dark and ominous illustrations of the town and the suspenseful music.
Cat Soup
Cat Soup is an experimental short film based on the manga by Nekojiru. Nyatta, an anthropomorphic kitten, travels to the underworld to retrieve the other half of his older sister’s, Nyāko, soul. The story is told in a surrealist manner, where scenes trifle with the concept of life and death by cutting and stitching living animals back together. An odd and morbid film, with animation by the great Masaaki Yuasa, Cat Soup won the Excellent Prize (Animation Division) in the 2001 Japan Media Arts Festival and the Silver Award for Animation in the 2003 New York Exposition of Short Film and Video.
Into the Forest of Fireflies’ Light
Based on a one-shot shojo manga by Yuki Midorikawa, Into the Forest of Fireflies’ Light is a supernatural love story between a human girl named Hotaru Takegawa and a forest spirit named Gin. When she was six-years-old, Hotaru gets lost in the forest and is guided back home by Gin, who informs her that he cannot be touched by a human or else he will disappear. Hotaru continues to visit Gin during her summer vacations, strengthening their friendship and love for each other but also increasing the insuperable barriers in their relationship. Midorikawa tells an ill-fated love narrative with such tenderness and simplicity, while also showing the beauty of Japanese mythology and folklore. This film won the Animation Film Award at the 66th Annual Mainichi Film Awards.
The Garden of Words
In Makoto Shinkai’s The Garden of Words, Takao Akizuki, an aspiring shoemaker, skips class to enjoy some time shoe sketching at Shinjuku Gyo-en on a rainy day. At the park, he encounters a woman named Yukari Yukino‚ a literature teacher at his high school and a victim of bullying and gossip, eating chocolate and drinking beer. The two start socializing daily at the park, resulting in Takao having a crush on her and promising to make a pair of shoes for her. Shinkai is known for how precise his animated backgrounds are to the actual Japanese locations, which is evident in this film through his encapsulation of the greenery and summer rain at Shinjuku Gyo-en National Park. Furthermore, Shinkai is an expert at embedding subtle metaphors and allusions—such as Takao’s handmade shoes and the classical Japanese poetry anthology, the Man’yoshu— to further depict the melodramatic love relationships amongst his characters. The Garden of Words won the Kobe Theatrical Film Award in 2013.
La Maison en Petits Cubes
La Maison en Petits Cubes, a short film created by Kunio Katō, tells the story of a widowed old man who accidentally dropped his favorite smoking pipe in the water and so, he swims through the many floors of his house that’s submerged in water to find it. While searching for his pipe, he takes a trip down memory lane, reliving some of his favorite memories before his house flooded. Katō crafts a timeless and reflective atmosphere with the water-colored animated images, driving home the thematic message of valuing human life with its melancholic and euphoric moments. La Maison en Petits Cubes won several awards including the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 81st Academy Awards.
Shelter
In collaboration with A-1 Pictures and Crunchyroll, Porter Robinson created this touching and artistically pleasing music video for his and Madeon’s song “Shelter.” Rin lives in a virtual simulation, spending her time drawing on her tablet and using her art to create new environments in the simulation. Her reality gets disrupted when images of her and her father spending time together suddenly flood through her virtual world. In these memories, Rin sees her father building a hibernation pod to send Rin into space after news clips reveal that an asteroid is heading towards Earth. Rin’s father wiped out her memory and programmed the simulation to recreate her childhood memories when’s she’s older, alongside a letter to explain his actions. “Shelter” showcases a father’s dying wish for his daughter to continue living in hopes of a bright future. The beautiful scenic images of nature and space capture the song’s nuances about protection and the true meaning of a “home.”