Transfer

The introduction to this programme seemed incredibly promising, it is no surprise that male and female animators tend to present female characters quite differently from one another in their works, and it is in this program where we get the chance to watch a variety of different works from Japan, known for their huge animation industry, I was intrigued to be given the opportunity to see their indie works that are of course overshadowed by mainstream animes.

"Transfer" was created by director/designer Fantasista Utamaro, co-director Kazuma Ikeda and cel-animation director and character designer Kubotabee in 2012. Utamaro graduated from Tama Art University in Textile Studies, and is currently on of the most innovative manga artists in Japan, he is also an animation director and a member of Mashcomix creators' union. Being known for his fashion and graphic design-related works, his contemporary art style and unique choice in colours is most notable in this animation.

I suppose I shouldn't look too deeply into this music video (Because I know I am going get some serious hate from anime fans), it probably seems fine if it is simply left to play in the background of a clothing store or anime themed dance club, but when we are made to watch it so intently in our seats for the whole six minutes, we can't help but think about the hidden messages this animation...

I hate to say it, but despite how brightly coloured, prettily designed and decently animated (And of course how cheerful the song is) this piece was, I was getting a lot of negative vibes as I watched on, especially when the unnecessary panty shots commenced less than a minute into the video, the same scene is then repeated over and over through different settings... which is absolutely draining to watch when you are ACTUALLY made to really watch it, instead of allowing it to play in the background as I mentioned earlier.

This awful side of me (That I keep wanting to apologise for) begins to feel that they are simply focusing on the anime stereotype of the magical schoolgirl. The repetition of that one scene with the girl running, jumping and flying seems to also imply that the archetype is used so incredibly often that no matter what setting the character is in, she never changes.

It just feels like a really bad start to the program as it seems to present male animators in a somewhat negative light when it comes to the portrayal of female characters (Which we know isn't true...).