Animation Without Borders at the 38th Tokyo International Film Festival

The animation program at this year’s Tokyo International Film Festival is defined by its difference. “Whether they hail from Japan or from other parts of the world, we strive to select works that are unique,” says Ryota Fujitsu, TIFF Japan’s lead animation programmer. Fujitsu joined the festival in 2020, following a lengthy and widely-recognized career as one of Japan’s leading anime critics and academics. “I’ve been writing on animation since 2000, and that’s involved interviewing a lot of Japanese TV and feature animation companies and creatives,” says Fujitsu. “I learned a lot from creators about how they’re putting together their films; the emotions behind them; and the planning and strategy that underpin them. As a result of that career, I think I’m now able to see what stands out about each of the films that I see — what makes them important.”

This year’s selection is dubbed ‘Intersection of Visions,’ and it comprises five features from Japan and five international features from other regions. The domestic offerings are visually diverse, boasting angular characters, bright colors and complex, often adult narratives. They stand apart from Japan’s anime box-office hits. “I think the festival should offer an alternative outlook and perspective,” suggests Fujitsu. “And that’s found in what surrounds the core of the animation. That’s what gives us more diversity in the cultures that we explore.”

Wataru Takahashi’s The Obsessed is a particular standout in this regard. A fresh feature from Shin-Ei Animation, who surprised and delighted audiences in recent years with films such as Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window (36th TIFF) and Ghost Cat Anzu, The Obsessed adapts a short story by Shinji Ishii and follows Giuseppe — a bright-eyed young man and general obsessive who finds himself falling hard for a local flower saleswoman. The character designs from Matatsugu Arakawa (Windy Tales) have an angularity to their thin outlines that nods to the imaginative potential of idle drawing and daydreaming. The film’s European locale and anarchic, elastic sequences are reminiscent of The Triplets of Belleville.

Another studio making waves is Studio4°C, who brought one of their two features this year: ChaO. An ode to the fluidity and transformative possibility of animation, Yasuhiro Aoki’s film follows another love-troubled young man, this one finding himself the unwitting fiancé of a fish princess. Much like The Obsessed, ChaO is grounded in its strong sense of space and locale — but where the former film meanders around a nonspecific and sleepy European town, ChaO sets its stage in the hustle and bustle of a futuristic Shanghai, packed with densely-populated crowds that are detailed and animated in constant motion.

Veterans and newcomers in anime are trying new things. Macross creator Shoji Kawamori has made a strikingly energized and vibrant entry in the isekai genre with Labyrinth, in which a teenage girl finds himself trapped inside an alternate Yokohama contained within her broken smartphone. “This is actually Kawamori’s first original screenplay,” says Fujitsu of the film. “He’s over 60 years old, but he wanted to challenge himself to make a film that’s more youthful.”

Two films in the lineup build rich and poignant character portraits in a mere ninety minutes. Director Baku Kinoshita has followed up the success of his animal city mystery serial Oddtaxi with introspective human drama The Last Blossom. Quiet and contemplative, Kinoshita’s feature debut reveals the backstory of an imprisoned conflict facing the end of his life. Continually surprising, his film is a flower that gradually unfurls to reveal its true colors.

Equally enigmatic is Jinsei, a remarkable debut feature from newcomer Ryuya Suzuki that’s gained buzz on the festival circuit for its unique production circumstances. Crowdfunded, and animated solely by the 30-year-old Suzuki, this 93-minute feature builds a unique picture of a man’s live over 100 years. “These two creators came up without any prior career in animation,” says Fujitsu of Kinoshita and Suzuki. “They existed outside of the animation industry, and they’re outsider artists.”

Alongside new releases is a 4K restoration of Mamoru Oshii’s enigmatic classic Angel’s Egg, which premiered at Cannes this year. Fujitsu has included it as a challenge to its newfound peers. “I feel like that film is questioning us,” he posits. “Has the anime industry changed in the past 40 years? It’s a very high-quality work, Angel’s Egg. If we asked people in the industry whether we could make something like that today, I think many of them would say that it would be difficult to achieve.”

“I feel like the works from Japan this year are less about their stories, and more about the unique ways in which those stories are expressed.” reflects Fujitsu. “The works made outside of Japan this year are about the relationship between one’s own self and the world. That’s not what we really aimed for, it’s simply what we ended up with.” In 2022, TIFF’s animation program branched out to include international animation. Regional balance is important to Fujitsu and the team. “We’re interested in diverse types of expression,” says Fujitsu. “Each year, we select around 12 works total. Out of those, we try to select five from abroad. Japanese work then would, depending on the circumstances, be represented in four to seven features.”

The other regions represented in this year’s animation program are Spain (Decorado), France (Allah Is Not Obliged, Little Amélie or the Character of Rain), China (Edge of Time) and Mexico (I Am Frankelda). A couple of these works bridge the gap between regions in fascinating ways. Little Amélie is a Japan-set story from a memoir by a Belgian author. Edge of Time is an anthology feature that brings together Chinese visualists Li Wei and Weng Ming and Japanese directors Shuhei Morita (Possessions) and Shinichiro Watanabe (Cowboy Bebop).

“Historically, we think of the primary regions producing animation as being North America, Europe (mainly France) and East Asia (mainly Japan),” explains Fujitsu. “In other regions, there may have been an animation industry, but their output was low, or their works weren’t so cutting-edge. Nowadays, it’s different. Lots of things are happening, and I think our role [at TIFF Japan] is to try and expand animation. I’m very excited about the future — it sets my heart aflutter.”

The 38th Tokyo International Film Festival (2025.tiff-jp.net) was held from October 27 to November 7. Read more about the festival’s Animation Symposium in contributor Kambole Campbell’s article for Animation Magazine here.