Introducing 'Usavich (ウサビッチ)': a series of 1:30-min long comic animation shorts produced by Kanaban

I take my hat off to the comic genius that is Usavich (ウサビッチ), a series of 1:30-min long animation shorts which you can view online at the official website here: ttp://www.usavich.tv/about.html

The story is about two rabbits who live in a Russian prison. One of them is docile, the other is a rebel. The title Usavich is probably a combination of usa from usagi (the Japanese word for 'rabbit') and -vich which adds a distinctly Russian sound to it.

It really is one of the funniest things I have ever seen. I am impressed by its inventiveness, well-timed jokes and fineness of detail. More importantly, it reminds me of the uniqueness of animation in that the same story could not have been told with live-action acting. (After all, what is the point of animating a story when live-action acting could have achieved the same effect?)

Apparently, this series is produced by an obscure studio called Kanaban. It is definitely a studio I will keep an eye out for along with Fruit Lab (see my previous post here).Their official website of Kanaban is here: ttp://www.kanaban.com/

Comments

[Snoop']

Ahaha the 6th episode (with Komanechi's father/mother) is so horrible !
Good stuff.

BTW I thought at first that ウサビッチ = usagi + bitch ^___^;

[Wabi Sabi]

Yeah. If I am not mistaken, it seems that these videos are available to 3G cellphones in Japan. Lucky people in Japan.

[w]

Ooh! Yes, I watched this on nico some time back and was absolutely enthralled by it. I simply love the Kanshukov (the door-guards)

Definitely very delightful. Have you seen some of the trailers they've done for other games? It's quite impressive.

[Wabi Sabi]

Did you find the videos randomly or did you find them by keyword search (for which you have to know about this series to begin with)? I mean, Nico Douga can be an ocean of crap with a few dots of pearls here and there...

[w]

I saw them pop up on the rankings (yes, I check those things) and my interest was piqued because they seemed like a rather unusual entry... Good thing I bumped into them that way; I earnestly waited for the next installments when they came out.

I don't know whether it's worth noting that they were actually produced under MTV Networks. Even considering the contents of the show on their own, I don't quite care that they're not exactly high-brow, though... they're delightful enough to be worth the time it takes to watch them. I really love the almost hand-crafted feeling some parts of the show have.

Maybe you've watched SiNK, his debut work? http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm1786022 It's pretty good for something that came out 9 years ago as a debut: I'm most impressed that he did the music himself, too.

[Wabi Sabi]

Thanks for the video link. I like most the design of the cityscape.

Really, the next time you find something this delightful, you ought to let me know sooner. ^-^

[Jordan S.]

Wa?! Just yesterday afternoon I was going though the books on animation in my university's library, and one of them ('Animation Unlimited') had a feature on the creator of 'SiNK,' with several stills from that film. It mentioned near the end that he's not fond of the short film format; his ambition is to make a feature film, and he's planning to direct a series in the meantime… 'Usavich' must be that series!

However, the reason I'm commenting here is to relay the news from Cartoon Brew that 'Usavich' will be showing in North American cinemas, as part of The Animation Show this year. A little ironic, given that it was made at least partly for broadcast direct to cell phones.
http://www.cartoonbrew.com/shorts/this-way-up-by-smith-foulkes

[Wabi Sabi]

Thanks for the link!

I am guessing that for cellphone broadcasting one would need decent 3G phones... and whatever the penetration rate of 3G phones is in the US it is probably not as high as... this side of the Pacific...