The song “Torinoko City,” written by the music artist 40mP and sung by the virtual artist Hatsune Miku, has gained substantial popularity and become something of a hot topic with film director Hiroki Yamaguchi attempting to turn the lonely world of a little girl expressed in the song into a live-action film bearing the same title. Students from Tokyo Design Technology Center were asked to work on the animated opening sequence for the film as a project by the film’s producer and distributor. Tokyo Design Technology Center is a Jikei Group of Colleges member school located in Shinjuku Ward in Tokyo.

 

Movie Flyer (Japanese Only)
Official Site: http://torinokocity.jp/

 

Director Hiroki Yamaguchi, whose works include “Chimamire Sukeban Chainsaw” (Bloody Chainsaw Girl), wrote the script for the live action film based on the world view of the song. Design Technology Center students Yukino Saito (Super Game Creator Major) and Mizuki Kano (Media Creator Major) created the animation used in the opening sequence as a corporate project with iLink Co., Ltd., the company that made the film.

 

Mr. Yamaguchi spoke to the two students, telling them the aim of the project and giving them an overview of the film. They then worked for five months on the production of the animation beginning in June of last year. The target audience was vocaloid fans ranging from teenagers to fans in their 30s. We envisioned base tones of blue and white without destroying the image of the original.

 

The finished film was selected to be shown at the Okhotsk Abashiri Film Festival and later played at Cinem@rt Shinjuku in December of last year.

 

Ms. Yukino Saito, who was responsible for illustrations, said, “We were told not to destroy the people’s image of the original, so I drew illustrations that were similar and drew pictures based on my own designs and pictures of the actual cast members.” Also, Ms. Mizuki Kano, who was responsible for the video, said, “The video would be shown on a big screen, so I worked hard making detailed revisions as I wondered about the most effective size and placement for characters.”