YNOT at the Movies

From endless TV series to great features like "Grave of the Fireflies (火垂るの墓)," Japanese Anime has become a culture phenomenon and gone mainstream in films and television. But interestingly, Anime was not born in Japan, but in the America. In 2006, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first animation film in history, sixteen Japanese Anime artists collected seventeen pieces of their creative work called "Tokyo Loop" (Japan 2006, 75 min.).

Using Tokyo's city life as the backdrop, with refreshing visuals and fanciful imagination, these seventeen animation shorts provide a delightful treat for the audience to appreciate.

From walking dogs ("Tokyo Strut," which is my favorite), to chasing a dog bone ("Dog & Bone"), to cleaning up after dogs ("Funkorogashi"), from naked dancing girls ("Tokyo Girl"), to a suffering man ("Unbalance"), to a mother and her sons ("Manipulated Man"), we experience the luxury to observe the imaginary world created by these talented Japanese animation artists.

The film reminds us the unique contribution from Japanese Anime films that enrich our lives, as well as cinema. It is indeed a celebration, not only for the birth of animation, but also for the spirit of artistic creation.

This film will be screened (Feb 8 & 9) at the upcoming the 10th San Francisco Independent Film Festival.