Yoko Yuki takes us on a bizarre jaunt into town in this kaleidoscopic animation

Yoko Yuki has created this whimsical yet captivating animation as part of her graduate work while at Tokyo University of the Arts. The film is narrated by a girl who tells us about a strange man she meets on the beach who teaches Russian and takes her to town. Her journey into the buzzing metropolis sees her meet and observe an array of characters and places and while the narrative is a little confusing at times, this uncertainty gives Yoko’s animation even more bizarre charm.

The animator uses a diverse range of styles including stop frame animation and 2D animation within the short. She takes a raw DIY approach to her animation where each character and frame is hand drawn and her figures navigate a mishmash of collaged sets that provide a technicolour backdrop to the action. This kaleidoscope of techniques and ideas is enhanced with Masumi Takino’s sound design which provides appropriate ambient noise like crowds chattering and waves crashing, giving Yoko’s bonkers trip a sense of reality within the chaos.