Tsuki no Warutsu
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| Tsuki no Warutsu | |
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| Directed by | Atsuko Ishizuka |
| Written by | Atsuko Ishizuka |
| Music by | Vocals by Mio Isayama Composition by Mio Isayama Arangement by Jun Abe Lyrics by Reiko Yukawa |
| Distributed by | NHK |
| Release date(s) |  October, 2004 |
| Running time | 4 minutes 40 seconds |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
| Budget | Unknown |
Tsuki no Warutsu (月のワルツ?), literally Waltz of the Moon, is a 2004 Japanese anime music video created for the popular NHK program Minna no Uta by director Atsuko Ishizuka and Studio Madhouse.
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[edit] Production
Minna no Uta, a showcase for independent Japanese animators and musicians presented on the public broadcasting network NHK, had taken notice of Atsuko Ishizuka while she was still in college. Initially a student of graphic design, Ishizuka had taken to animation and produced several short films entirely on her own before being hired by Madhouse. It was shortly after being hired that Minna no Uta contacted her to direct a music video for their program. Convinced by the Minna no Uta staff, Madhouse promoted the low-ranking Ishizuka (then a production assistant) to director, and leant the studio's resources to the production.
After production was completed, the music video was shown on Minna no Uta broadcasts from the beginning of October through November of 2004. Its success later prompted NHK to order another short from Ishizuka and Madhouse, Sen no Hana Sen no Sora, in 2005.
[edit] Animation Style
The film is animated in Ishizuka's "moving sketch" style, giving the short the look of a hand drawn and colored pencil work. The animation and designs are not smooth or 'cleaned up,' giving them a rougher feel. This is stylistic continuation of Ishizuka's earlier solo works CREMONA and Gravitation, and has traditionally been a style more often seen in independent world animation rather than studio-produced anime. Despite the appearance, Tsuki no Warutsu was done in much the same way as Madhouse's normal anime, using the technique of digital ink & paint for the coloring. Great care was taken to disguise and cover these modern productions aids and ensure that the film look as hand-crafted and individual to Ishizuka's style as possible.
[edit] Music
The song of the same name which the short was animated to was composed and sung by the young musical vocalist Mio Isayama. The song was later released as Isayama's 8th single on December 1, 2004. The lyrics were penned by Reiko Yukawa, long known in Japan as a prominent music critic, and the arrangements were by Jun Abe, known for composing the music of the popular anime Kodomo no Omocha and Fruits Basket.
[edit] DVD Release
As is the case for most of the Minna no Uta shorts, Tsuki no Warutsu was not originally intended for home video release. Nevertheless, on March 30, 2005, its popularity among fans of the program warranted the short's inclusion on the Minna no Uta Best Hit Collection DVD (Catalog No.: TOBF-5372).
