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loundraw Creates Anime Short For Nervous Exam Takers

Ever felt nervous about an impending exam or test? We've all been there. Illustrator loundraw (I want to eat your pancreas, Josee, The Tiger and the Fish, Vivy -Fluorite Eye's Song-) is helping lighten the burden on many a student's shoulders by creating an uplifting anime short for Z-Kai. Z-Kai offers academic support for students in Japan.

Z-Kai will stream the Futari-bun no Shōmei ("A Proof for Two") short on its YouTube channel on December 23 at 11 a.m. JST. The company describes it as a "concept movie" to encourage entrance exam takers.

Along with designing the characters, loundraw is directing, writing, storyboarding, animating, and managing the color script. Flat Studio, the studio loundraw established in 2019, is animating. Internationally renowned pianist Akira Kosemura, who worked on the soundtrack of loundraw's directorial debut Summer Ghost, is composing the theme song "Ahead of Us."

The story will follow three friends grappling with school, studies, and relationships. Kōki Uchiyama will play Takuya Amano, a boy who will move to Hokkaido after finishing middle school. Yui Ishikawa plays Haruka Kishi, Takuya's childhood friend. Daisuke Fujita plays Tsubasa Miyake, a mutual friend of Takuya and Haruka who attends the Eikoh Seminar school.

The new anime marks the second time loundraw has partnered with Z-Kai. Z-Kai streamed the Ichiban Chikakute Tooi Hoshi ("The Closest Yet Furthest Star") short in February 2021. It is set in the same world as Summer Ghost. Z-Kai streamed a "new version" on May 30, featuring a song by the same name performed by Junko Iwao.

loundraw commented on the new collaboration: "I feel very grateful to be given another opportunity to work with Z-Kai after the previous time last year. Last time, I created a film called Summer Ghost, which was about ideals and reality, about what you can achieve and what you can't. Although I'm older now and my goals are different, it was a difficult time that reminded me of when I was studying for my entrance exams. The fact that I could complete the film despite it all is undoubtedly because of my friends working alongside me with the same goal. Even when you're by yourself, you're never alone. Flat Studio is now at the point where we can convey that through our illustrations. Thank you very much for your support."

The Summer Ghost short opened in Japan on November 12, 2021.

The short is part of Project Common, a multimedia initiative "to express the true loundraw." The illustrator said last summer, "Unchanging at any time; I want to find my steadfast self. This project is a challenge to find the true 'loundraw' with myself and everyone." The project's website included the English text "real or fake? The way he thinks, the way he draws. These all become 'one.'"

loundraw drew the original character designs for the Tsuki ga Kirei television anime series and provided the original character designs and cover illustration for Yoru Sumino's I want to eat your pancreas novel. The novel has inspired an anime film using his original character designs.

He also drew the character designs for an animated promotional video based on Yusuke Yamada's Boku wa Robot Goshi no Kimi ni Koi wo Suru (I fall in love with you through a robot) novel. The novel is also getting a complete animated film adaptation.

Sources: Mainichi Shimbun's Mantan Web, Z-Kai's website