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Leo Ieiri Makes Jungle Emperor/Kimba the White Lion Music Video
posted on by Egan Loo
19-year-old singer-songwriter Leo Ieiri collaborated with the Jungle Emperor (Kimba the White Lion) anime for the music video of the title song from her second album, a boy. The hybrid live-action/anime video has the singer Leo co-starring with the anime Leo (Kimba), and YouTube began streaming a short version of the video on Tuesday:
The collaboration began when a staff member of Tezuka Productions happened to read an interview and learned that Ieiri's stage name is inspired by Leo in Jungle Emperor. Thus, the studio began reaching out to Ieiri's people. This is Jungle Emperor's first collaboration with a musician and its first collaboration for a music video.
Leading Tezuka Productions animator Masayoshi Nishida (Black Jack: Capital Transfer To Heian, Princess Knight, Saving our Fragile Earth: Unico Special Chapter, Eyeshield 21, Allison & Lillia) designed a character in the image of Ieiri. Ieiri's character travels through jungles and savannas and encounters the familiar characters of Jungle Emperor. Video director Gabin Itō combined the animation and live-action segments.
Tezuka Productions' chief producer Hiroyuki Yumoto explained that this project came about because the song "a boy" splendidly encapsulates the story themes of Jungle Emperor. Even though Jungle Emperor spans three generations, it is ultimately a story of Leo's coming-of-age from child to adult. Ieiri added that she hopes people who have gone through suffering like she did will watch this video.
The album will go on sale on Wednesday, and the limited first edition will bundle a DVD with the full music video.
Source: Oricon
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