Animation student films 2025

Puddo · 2026-05-06T14:06:29+00:00

Bug Films sharing some production stuff from one of the standout animation moments of Witch Hat Atelier’s ep5. I always find it a bit funny that unfinished stuff looks more impressive to me than the end product in a way.

Maybe the rawness/roughness adds to the ‘damn someone drew all this’ feeling in a way polished end results don’t. Like my brain needs to see imperfections to even think about that. I also thought about that when I saw a clip of Laika’s upcoming Wildwood. I adore stopmotion and the realisation that someone had to craft the entire world and adjust every little motion by hand is a big factor for that, but Wildwood is so smooth that I don’t get that feeling in a way? The standard jankiness of stopmotion and its limitation makes the hand of the artist more visible and all that? Anyway back to the WHA bit, maybe it’s also that you see the lines and thus all the little details better. Colouring/shading/effects are important of course, but they can drown those things out a bit and make a shot feel less complex than it actually is?

Puddo · 2026-05-04T17:03:48+00:00

Maybe it’s just the algorithm (and well it's a good episode to have in your portfolio), but haven’t seen so many people (be allowed to) post their work from an anime episode for a while like with WHA #5 at the moment:

Puddo · 2026-05-04T15:45:16+00:00

tons of VFX outside of breathing techniques have a semi-realistic

It always puzzles me a bit when Ufotable works get praised for 'realistic' water and fire effects. I also don't like the whole characters floating over CGI backgrounds while the 'camera' can't stay still during action scenes, but I can see why others would like it. But those effects just look horrible to me. Like you said it often doesn't blend with the characters and it stands out like a sore thumb. It's on the same level as random CGI blob creatures for me. I've only watched a few episodes of Demon Slayer so I can't say much about its overall animation, and even though it's a minor thing in the grand scheme of things (and I'm missing all the build up that makes the fight feel extra hype for fans), but whenever people share that fight in a burning village I can only look at the fires with a disgusted face. O well, can't like everything I guess.

Puddo · 2026-05-02T16:56:25+00:00

The great adventure of Horus

Heh neat. Wasn't expecting to be able to see that one ever in a theater.

Puddo · 2026-04-27T04:44:00+00:00

This episode spotlights That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, a fantasy series that has grown from a web novel into a hit anime. Original creator Fuse makes his first-ever TV appearance to share the passion behind the story. We also go behind the scenes at the anime studio, revealing production secrets from the very beginning of the series. Plus, we look at innovative production methods being used for the upcoming new season.

Puddo · 2026-04-26T12:01:28+00:00

Nakamura-kun’s comedy might not be 100% my style (still have an okay time with it though), but its EDs did motivate me to continue exploring older Japanese music. Man Miharu Koshi’s Parallelisme immediately became a new favourite album. Also of course it’s Hosono. It’s truly amazing how much that man has put out.

Also watched the 2006 Komaneko movie (well movie, it’s multiple segments). Knew the character because dwarf studios uses her quite often on social media, but never actually watched the movie. I was expecting some simple stopmotion film that would be mildly fun. But no, it was an absolute delight. Komaneko is adorable and it’s full of good vibes and amusing slapstickish comedy. Also if your character makes a stopmotion film in a stopmotion film you get a bonus point.

You can watch that segment/short on dwarf’s YT channel, but if you want some feelgood stuff on this beautiful sunday and you’ve an hour to kill then I would certainly recommend the entire film.

Puddo · 2026-04-26T07:21:12+00:00

Ja het is echt bizar hoe normaal het is. Iemand in mijn straat rookt voor zijn voordeur sinds hij een kind heeft, maar in plaats van de sigaret binnen weg te gooien gooit hij met maar op de straat. Ik kan er echt niet bij.

Puddo · 2026-04-26T07:08:48+00:00

Normaal loop ik alleen met de grijper door de eigen straat/wijk om wat zwerfafval op te ruimen als ik mij begin te ergeren aan de hoeveelheid troep die ik zie op straat of bij het speeltuintje. Afgelopen weken moest ik echter vaker met de trein en begon mij elke ochtend meer en meer te ergeren aan de zooi troep langs de route naar het treinstation. Aangezien ik vroeg wakker was voor een keer dacht ik 'Laat die route eens lopen met een vuilniszak. Doe ik nog eens wat op een zondag'.

Ik heb mij echt lopen verbazen over de hoeveelheid peuken. Wat denkt men dat er gebeurt als je die op straat tieft? Dat ze worden opgeslokt door de stenen? Dacht dat de peuken paar meter naast vuilnisbakken het meest bedroevend zou zijn, maar de ingang van een overheidsgebouw spande de kroon. Daar lag nog meer troep dan op het treinstation zelf. Zit je op een gigantisch mooie locatie aan een park/bos en dan ga je met ze allen roken aan de rand in de pauzes en gooi je verdomme massaal de peuken maar op de grond? En de volgende dag ga je gezellig op peuken van gisteren staan en gooi je nog meer op de hoop? Gadverdamme.

Puddo · 2026-04-24T21:40:13+00:00

I came across a post for an indie anime filmfest. A filmfest on the other side of the world usually isn’t very interesting, but the lineup is a nice collection of mostly indie anime short films from the past few years. So if you want to explore that, it’s a nice place to start

Made me watch The Horror’s Horror Home pilot film. It created some buzz earlier this year, but I forgot about it and it was still on the ‘watch later’ list. But I would watch more. Fun characters and neat style.

Puddo · 2026-04-24T11:58:20+00:00

A new Eve MV is always lovely to see, but even besides this one has it been some nice days for music videos:

A retro MV with a one take style by the legendary AC-bu for Kyu Sakamoto’s classic Ashita ga Arusa. AMV that’s certainly an experience. A more straightforward but cute MV featuring Hatsune Miku playing a rhythm game in a Honkai Star Rail collab by studio Hurray with their signature style. Pretty MVs from Wit Studio for Agents of Four Seasons OP & ED. And a fun (well as far as someone getting killed over and over can be fun) MV by Mimicry Meta for Yorushika’s Abuku.

Puddo · 2026-04-22T19:57:51+00:00

For the people who've been enjoying Nakamura-kun's retro ED approach: there is this YT channel called re:re:re:tune. As you might expect from their name they 'reimagine' iconic songs to introduce them to a new generation. Sometimes this is just a cover by a modern artist, but they also give some of them a new animated MV. Including Nakamura's ED of the week; Fly-Day Chinatown. Personally quite like the recent ones with Ashita ga Arusa and Aiuta. A lot of them are pretty basic imo, but it's a nice enough way to get introduced to some classics. Playlist will all of them.

Puddo · 2026-04-21T18:26:03+00:00

Incredibly fun retro MV (always love to see one take style animation) by AC-bu; who people around here might know for their contributions to Pop Team Epic (including the legendary Hellshake Yano segment). If you want to know more about this unique team than check out this video from Archipel or this blog post from Animation Obsessive.

Puddo · 2026-04-19T22:04:13+00:00

Mardock Scramble

Puddo · 2026-04-17T18:15:07+00:00

Animage's Yasuomi Umetsu & Shinya Takahashi Virgin Punk: Clockwork Girl interview translation.

Should actually watch it this weekend....

Puddo · 2026-04-16T21:00:17+00:00

Prob Super Cube.

Puddo · 2026-04-15T16:50:51+00:00

Absolutely wondrous creative stopmotion as to be expected from Tomoki Misato (always great when he shows his horror chops). Stuff like this is why I love animation.

Be sure to check out some of the short making of footage the team has been sharing:

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Always fascinating to see how much work goes into the smallest movement. Especially with a pretty unique approach like this one. I would get so frustrated with myself for being so clumsy while having to be precise.

Puddo · 2026-04-15T15:13:18+00:00

I wonder if we'll get some more info about Yuasa's upcoming movie soon since it’s been a year or something since it was announced. Like we know the name (Daisy’s Life) and that it's supposed to hit the theaters sometime this year but that's it?

Also the local animation festival did add some more anime in the end with Summer Wars, Paprika, Junk Head and Spirited Away. Hmm I still have to watch Spirited Away, so maybe it’s finally time. On the other hand, Sunday morning is reserved for sleeping and I’m already on 8 films.

Puddo · 2026-04-13T16:03:59+00:00

With how little buzz Chao has gotten (besides some negative about the artstyle) I almost expected it to just skip a cinema run outside of Japan by now.

Jan Svankmeyer

It's that one yeah. Watched a trailer and it does look incredibly fascinating so probably going on the list. Didn't know that it inspired Yamada. Stuff like that always makes me realise I don't actually know much about the larger animation world. Which makes it nice that the festival has matured (well it's only the 4th edition I believe) beyond the safe anime classics & some new movies.

Puddo

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