Weathering With You, Suzume animator Maho Takagi makes directorial debut
CoMix Wave Films announced on Sunday the release of its new short animation titled "Hatsukoi no Nioi" ("Scent of First Love"), in collaboration with singer-songwriter Sakura Fujiwara, who composed and performed the song of the same title for the short animation. The video premiered on Fujiwara's YouTube channel on Monday.
The short animation tells the simple story of a girl who is reminded of the memories of her first love that will never return, through nostalgic smells in her daily life.
Maho Takagi directed the short animation. The work is based on Takagi's fresh, yet shocking expressions and gestures, and on the theme of perfectly expressing the coquettish charm of a woman through animation. Takagi, a fan of Sakura Fujiwara, personally asked her to produce the song for the short animation.
In terms of production, CoMix Wave Films employed a small number of elite members and adopted independent production methods that do not adhere to a section system.
Takagi was the key animator for Makoto Shinkai's Weathering With You and Suzume films, and for the Evangelion: 3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon A Time anime film.
CoMix Wave Films is best known for producing Makoto Shinkai's 5 Centimeters Per Second, your name., Weathering With You, and Suzume anime films.
Fujiwara has performed the theme song for the second movie of Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion movie series, and the Okko's Inn anime film. She also performed the second ending theme song for the Lupin the 3rd Part 6 anime series.
Sources: Press release, CoMix Wave Films' website via Crunchyroll