An introduction to the studio Fruit Lab. (fans of Shinkai Makoto would love this)

Remember my previous post on ga-nime (画ニメ)?

While I was browsing the 2007 winners of Digicon6+3 held by TBS, I discovered two utterly gorgeous ga-nime from Fruit Lab. -

Hatsukoi ・Ten (初恋・天)

As its title suggests, Hatsukoi ・Ten is about first love. The style emits what I call strong Shinkai-Makoto-vibes, though fans of Hosoda Mamoru's Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo may recognise the lyrical depiction of high school life and urban cityscape as well. 

Ichiaku no Suna (一握の砂)

This one is about father and son, and is by far my favorite. The style is very similar to Hatsukoi ・Ten.

You know, as I watched these two ga-nime, I grew more convinced that surely there is a market for animated commercials. Ichiaku no Suna for one would be a perfect commercial for 3G cellphones.

(Remember my post on Production I.G.'s Asience: Hairy Tale? Call me an impressionable anime fan, but after I watched the commercial, I actually ditched the brand of shampoo I have been using for the last 5 years and bought Asience's shampoo, hair condition and other related hair products instead... )

I Googled for Fruit Lab.'s official website, on which I also discovered their newest work Sekai Ichi no Hanabi (世界一の花火), now being shown on Gyao. As we know, Gyao blocks foreign IPs...

However, their official website also comes with a showcase of their other work. I would like to draw your attention especially to Ran no Machi (藍の町) and Gin no Ito (銀の糸).