Animation Short Review: A nu: In True Colors (2023) by Takanobu Koga

Takanobu Koga was born in 2000 in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture. He studied at the Ritsumeikan University College of Image Arts and Sciences, where he tried to create not only live-action movies but other multi-media images using CG software. He received an award from the university for his graduation research on the subject of the digital archives of the Sofubi (soft vinyl figures) manufacturing process. During the COVID-19 outbreak, he started using Blender, the 3D computer graphic software, which was used for “A nu: In True Colors”.

The movie starts with a young man waking up, and through narration we learn that there is only one thing in his mind, the girl that is about to leave to go to college in Tokyo. the boy is named Chiharu and is good at making sweet treats, and since it is White Day, as one of his classmates states, when girls get sweets in return, he considers this his opportunity to give one to the aforementioned, Yuka. Furthermore, it seems that Chiharu is famous for his candies, and even boys ask him for one, but the girls are absolutely crazy for them, with a number of them expecting a treat. Just as he is about to give the special one he has for her, Suzuka, another girl, appears and rather forcefully takes it from his hand, to the disappointment of Yuka.

With rumors about other boys getting turned down due to their candy not being of quality, Chiharu gets increasingly worried, and is out of focus in football practice. Night comes, and the young man finds himself in a playground by himself. While there, he checks his phone for easy candy recipes and finds one that is done in 40 minutes. He then proceeds on buying the ingredients from the supermarket and straight to his home where he prepares it in all speed. With encouragement from his mother, he goes to her house to deliver the cupcake.

Takanobu Koga directs a really adorable CGI animation, that portrays the adolescent/school romance in the most amusing fashion, reminding us also how “politics” work in such an environment and how easily teenagers get both enthused and frustrated. At the same time, the comments about perseverance, never giving up, and the importance of support from parents and friends is also highlighted through the story.

The CGI is relatively good, considering that this is essentially a school project, although the issue the artform faces, with the movement looking more like floating instead of flowing, is here once more. Furthermore, the sound and the voice acting could have been a bit better timed and performed, since the voices sound abrupt and as if someone is reading from a text instead of acting.

On the other hand, the drawing is quite good, with the characters being unique in their presentation, the backgrounds being quite detailed and the colors popping up in the most fitting fashion. Particularly the night scenes and the cooking are a true wonder to watch, highlighting the quality of work in the technical department.

“A nu: In True Colors” has some issues, but the storytelling and the majority of the aspects of the artform are on a convincing level, in a rather hopeful debut that will probably put a smile on the face of its viewers.

My name is Panos Kotzathanasis and I am Greek. Being a fan of Asian cinema and especially of Chinese kung fu and Japanese samurai movies since I was a little kid, I cultivated that love during my adolescence, to extend to the whole of SE Asia.

Starting from my own blog in Greek, I then moved on to write for some of the major publications in Greece, and in a number of websites dealing with (Asian) cinema, such as Taste of Cinema, Hancinema, EasternKicks, Chinese Policy Institute, and of course, Asian Movie Pulse. in which I still continue to contribute.

In the beginning of 2017, I launched my own website, Asian Film Vault, which I merged in 2018 with Asian Movie Pulse, creating the most complete website about the Asian movie industry, as it deals with almost every country from East and South Asia, and definitely all genres.

You can follow me on Facebook and Twitter.

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