Shingo Tamagawa - Three Minutes, Three Years: Making Puparia 

It's so nice to just hear your interviewees talking by themselves, it feels like a stream of consciousness, uninterrupted by interviewers trying to get their own points or views across.

I think one of the best things he said was that he doesn't make animation to be efficient. Today's animation industry as a whole often sacrifices the love for the craft itself in exchange for efficiency.

PUPARIA is honestly one of the best things I’ve seen in recent years, everything about it is so refreshing. Animation studios have been putting out things in recent years that look and feel so cheap and to see a piece of art that a man made all by himself just stands to show what different point of view and young talent can do. I truly hope he becomes more and more successful so a new era of animation can start.

I was so curious to see the process behind the creation of this masterpiece. Shingo is so kind he privately wrote me after I had posted some fanart of his work on Instagram that he seemed to have liked. I feel like this documentary really accomplished in showing the kind of sensible and creative person he is. Bravo to everyone involved in making this, and to Shingo as well for this achievement!

That white haired being has got to be the most beautiful creation ever. There something eerie about it. Like if it what was infinite, god like. I love it.

These are more than just documentaries, I can't draw for shit but after hearing this man talk I want to draw anything even if it's just a small flower 💖

such a great animation, it's has a smooth fluidity and gorgeous art style.

"Generate new emotions I hadn't felt before." That's what it's all about man. That line brought me to tears because so many people don't value art for what it could be. They call it pretentious or useless or this or that. In reality, art is all we have to fortify us against the utter brutality this world bombards us with in every moment. Every instance of our existence is characterized by pain and suffering and ambivalence and sometimes even hatred - but...art as something that exists for the sake of existing is what lifts us out of that. It helps us to recognize the fact that there can be things that don't need a pragmatic justification. There can be windows into the transcendent. God needs no justification, after all. We live for others, or money, or fame, or recognition, but art just says "Here I am. You can ignore me, you can be lost in me, or you can peruse me. I do not have a tether to your gods of oil and grease and brushed steel. I fly free." It tells us that perhaps, one day, we can also exist merely for the sake of existing, and stop searching for a reason.

In 3 minutes, Puparia inspired people for the rest of their lives. Including me. Thanks Shingo. Greetings from Santiago, Chile.

i loved that he mentioned Spider-Verse, i think that movie truly made history when it comes to animation, but more importantly, i believe the general audience can tell that the creators had a lot of fun making the movie, just like with Laika films, that tend to requiere a lot of work and dedication from it's creators, seeing the animators passion and love to the craft through these films feels more meaningful than just watching an entretaining movie with quality animation y'know? can't want to see what else Shingo Tamagawa works on

I love how he studies and experiments a lot for each scene. He doesn't give up until each frame looks the way he wanted it to be.

言葉が誠実すぎて泣きそう。 自主制作以外じゃほとんど不可能っていうのが現状だよね。長い目で見て需要がある物の強さって、AKIRAや今敏作品の現代社会における影響力を見ると凄くよく分かるのに、経済面においても、社会面においても、そういうものを作り上げる体力がもう日本にはほとんどないし、なんなら受け取る側もそういう体力に欠けてきているように思える。 素晴らしい作品は毎日生まれているけど、アイコニックなものは中々狙って生まれない。 人生に大きな影響を与えるほどのアニメって、まさに玉川さんが仰るような『絵として美しい っていうことの喜び』が必ず最初にあったと思うし、『最近のセルアニメーションのデジタルの塗り(ノリ？売り？)が 絵として弱いとどうしても感じる』これも凄くよく分かる…言葉の落とし所が天才だと思った…アニメの需要があまりにも大きくなりすぎて、それに追いつけていない感じがする。 さらに最近でいえば中国のアニメ作品の進出や、韓国原作のアニメが日本で作られていたり…少し前では中々あり得なかったようなことが凄いスピードでどんどん前に進んで行っていて、本当に仰る通り時代が大きく変わり始めてるのが良く分かる。 生き残っていくためにも色々な形態をとったり、多様な在り方を見つけなきゃいけないのは、生存本能としても一番正しいように思えた。要するに、作り手だけでなく、受け取る側である私達もたくさん投資したり、意識改革していかないといけないんだよね…。 そして何が凄いって、玉川さんがこのインタビューで言語化した思いは、作品を通して必ず人に伝播していたと思えること。間違いなく。だってPUPARIAはあれだけツイッターでバズって、RU-vidでもたくさん視聴され、それがまさに答えだと思った。

There's only one word to define what I feel for Shingo Tamagawa and his work: *RESPECT* I really wish Sunrise studio would give him the chance to run an OVA of 6 episodes so Tamagawa could explode his creative work and mind. On the long run it would even be more profitable than making another "mass produced anime" with no depth whatsoever. I hope to see more of Tamagawa's work.

No one thing calms me so much as puparia. That’s really anxiously to live these days and I needed to this smile of Future.

I remember seeing this short film. I would have expected it to have taken maybe a year to make, but three years? That's some serious dedication. Incredible work from him and from Archipel. Thanks for giving a glimpse into the process.

I was worried for such a long time, that I was a little too old to begin drawing. but after this. seeing such a great and amazing work of art, created by someone who had started much later than me. I've been made aware of how great I could be if I started now. today, I will start. I sincerely thank you for showing me this.

I'm really grateful that he showed us his planning sketches. I feel like a lot of artists hide their messier compositional sketches and only show the clean finished stuff, but I love seeing the thought process behind someone's work.

Listen Ai art will never approach this level of creativity drive and atmosphere. This short animation leaves so many more questions than answers but is so visually stunning you can’t look away.

Speaking on making animation for the sake of finding new emotions, not for the sake of being efficient just opened my eyes.

This is so reassuring to hear and see. I've always adored Japanese animation, particularly the likes of Lain, Angel's Egg, Texhnolyze, the old Ghost in the Shell movies and Satoshi Kon's amazing library of work. It was fine art in the form of animation - fascinating, philosophical, and clearly made for a purpose and personal reason. It inspired me so much I've dedicated my past few years to animation college, drawing, and learning Japanese, so that I can be a part of it when I finish. However, I've recently noticed that the industry has shifted massively towards being more commercial. It's all about the big franchises, the prettiest drawings, and the simplest most enjoyable stories. It's become a battlefield of creators dying for the attention of the masses. When I see the likes of Ohira, Hashimoto, or these other more expressionistic animators either not getting any work at all or getting their work messed with so much you can't even call an Ohira cut an Ohira cut anymore, I felt so depressed. It felt like we lost a wonderful medium to the people on the top that only care for the money and mass appeal of a 'product'. So when I see people like Tamagawa think in a similar way, it gives me so much hope that anime may one day come back to its wonderfully philosophical and artistic roots, and 'Puparia' was an enormours motivator for me, to be there, in a studio in Japan, when it happens. His work has reignited the passion within me that I lost from the recent direction anime has gone.

"Generate new emotions i not fel before". This is one of the strongest images about what Tamagawa said. He says that this short sought to capture his mentality and emotions during the time it was vacant. "Allow your emotions, freedom and beauty". For me these are the themes of this animation. If he intended to do what he wanted and seek that joy that all people feel, I believe he got. All of this was stayed palpable. I hope this experience has made you feel better, because much of the oppression and sense of loss that you felt before doing this job is probably due to the animation industry and about people not allow the flow of their wants and feelings. Throughout the video he spoke using only what he felt to create everything. And I respect that purity a lot, because it makes the art biggest. A genuine artist.

"I wanted to take a stand in a way" - that is exactly what I thought of the first time I saw Puparia. I thought, this is such an inspiring piece of art that challenges the current anime industry with its authentic facial expressions, color palette, character/background design thereby showing that the goal of being "efficient" has been indeed rising at the expense of "pursuing something more beautiful". I feel grateful that Puparia came alive and is such a breath of fresh air. I think it is because of such daring, authentic works like Puparia that people can stay inspired to explore new possibilities within the anime/animation realm. Thank you so much for all the hard work!!

PUPARIA 🖌 it's awesome A mysterious atmosphere. It should be made into a feature film, a story about these characters.

Puparia was his personal act of rebellion against the industry and his pathway towards falling in love with animation again. He started from the beginning and did what he always wanted to do, express himself through animation. Truly one of the most inspiring stories of our time.

You can tell just how much he respects the medium of animation. He's a real visionary.

It's truly no lie to say that every single frame of Puparia is it's own artwork, there are no messy in-betweens or digital colouring shortcuts, the dedication that went into every image helps convey a strong and indescribable emotional impact, Tamagawa-san truly made something that inspires and comforts others.

he is a genius. thnx for showing his history to the world 🙏🏽

One of most mesmerizing animations I saw, captured the feeling of uncertainty and beauty perfectly. I’m glad there’s interview like this with the artist behind this masterpiece. Thank You.

I cried towards the end. He is a true artist. Animation used to have more soul to it. Yes using the computer programs are necessary for longer shows and it helps in movies. But when the artistry is completely cut for efficient means everything starts to look the same. ほんとすごい！きれいいな❤ このことばはきれいいですね

Shingo sensei is the epitome of "Nothing is impossible." He created everything from scratch all by himself. Mad respect to him, and I'm glad he didn't entirely stopped drawing.

I knew Ghibli movies had to be his inspiration, especially the part where the man was in that vibrant room with a mirage of open doors. It reminded me of spirited away a lot. I hope this guy creates more beautiful pieces and lives a fulfilling life.

Beautiful art! I worked on Spider-verse and made all the tool related to generating linework to make it feel more hand drawn (we kicked it up a notch on the next film). I can relate to every word he says about animation and wanting to experiment and break new ground. There is not doubt he accomplished that in his personal project - he should be proud.

写実的な絵画から記号的な絵を作った漫画の文脈を逆行するようでいて、記号的表現への遥かなリスペクトを感じる。最近のcg塗りでは、セル画が持つ油の乗った重さが足りない。まさにそうだと思います。何が言いたいかというと最高。もっと若かったら全てを捨てて弟子入りさせてもらいたい。

English, French, Portuguese, Bulgarian, Arabic, Chinese (Simplified) and Italian subtitles are available under the "CC" menu. Thank you for following Archipel and if you enjoy our content and want to help us keep going, please consider supporting us on Patreon (patreon.com/archipel) or via RU-vid memberships (ru-vid.com/show-UC3zoY9LapZERsN7caDKqz0wjoin ).

ニ年ほど前にこのアニメを偶然見つけて、動きが生き生きしていて、目の動きが美しかったのを覚えています。その後どんなタイトルだったのかを忘れて、「また見たい」と思っていたら、また偶然見つけて本当に感動しました。何度も何度も見ては、美しいなと感じます。本当に素晴らしい作品です。大好きです！

It's strange how something so surreal could be so relatable. He's communicating emotions that go beyond words.

Puparia gave me the impression of showing fragments of a dream. Different moments of one same dream

Finally someone said it. The world needs more traditional animation. The world needs more of that forgotten beauty. Excellent work Archipel. X)

玉川さんの今のアニメや漫画に対する印象や思想に共感をもちました。 作品を意見というところが面白いです。 収入や締切に囚われず自分のやりたいことをやりきろうと思う姿勢が尊敬でしかないです。 この動画は大切にしたいです。 自分の作品や作りたいものに疑問を感じたらこの動画をまた見ようと思います。

Being a young animator who aspires to grow things out of my own work, I constantly found myself nodding, excitingly gasping and verbally commenting on Shingo's words with absolute agreement. As animators, something many of us aspire to do is spark something emotionally and retrospectively big and fulfilling for not just the world but ourselves. Shingo makes a great point in retrospective fulfillment over corporate appeasement, and how as creatives the drive in our heart should come before what's simply marketable. I couldn't agree more. I'm 16 years old currently; have been animating since I was 11 and wish to become an executive behind my own animated series and even possibly films here in America. Shingo Tamagawa has gained my respect from the emotional impact of Puparia's art and sentience.

His art is drop-dead gorgeous, wow. When I first experienced anime as a kid, watching things such as Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Samurai Champloo, and Paranoia Agent, this was the kind of art I'd imagined for the future. It's nice to see that at least one person has managed to understand something similar and act on it. I hope we can see more animation like this in the future.

好きなものを表現していいんだなって再認識できました。本当にありがとうございます。ありがとうございます。

If it me who also love drawing, seeing puparia make me believe that the art is just meant to keep it to yourself without anyone deserves to know about it.

As a person who loves art, this is so inspiring to watch. I love the way he put so much effort into puparia. One day I'd love to make my own animated short film like him too. Thank you archipel, i really hope this vid was longer because i enjoy this so much. 😊

日本にはもう一流のクリエイターを抱えて育てる器量がないと最近感じていました 日本において「娯楽を作っている人は好きでやってる。待遇が悪くても我慢して当然」という感覚が根付いているから 不真面目なひと、楽をしたい人が娯楽を作っているわけではないということを日本人はもっと知るべきだと思う

Honestly, the final product looks and feels like it has 3 years worth of soul put into it. It was so powerfully vibrant in its art style, i've never seen anything like it, a true masterpiece

Man, the opening shot with the girl and the creature gave me back some hope.

its really interesting to see people like shingo that pursue their personal goals and trying to show the world their ideas, struggling just because they want to express themself. they don't become rich or popular, but i don't think they will ever complain about it. they just speaking with their creations. that is a true passion.

This almost made me cry in my years of being alive I don't think I've ever been able to express what I want to do despite knowing it and towards the end, he summed up all my hopes and dreams. I make to create things because I want to generate new emotions I haven't felt before.

I just wanted that animators like him get the recognition they deserve to have from their hardwork.

I love how he expressed how his art started from Miyazaki and Anno’s work and could definitely see how distinctly beautiful he made his own work with Puparia.

The creature, the "living work of art" at the end of the video, has the same eyes of Michelangelo's David. Such a great reference

We need to get this man a studio

Man, I wish he could direct his own anime film, and I believe one day he will.

I really hope he publishes a book with all the artwork from the short (and it's available worldwide, hehe)

"I wanted the characters' expressions to feel alive to the viewer". Nailed it. I'd say they exist somewhere beyond 'alive'. Edit: grammar.

自分もまた絵の世界に戻ろうと思いました

I feel now, how he felt hating the act of drawing, but it is trying to achieve it.

この絶妙なストレートに断らないユーモアセンスがツボで何回も見てしまう

この方のPUPARIAを初めて見たときは衝撃的でした。 今回インタビューを見て、ますます興味を持ちました。 こうしたアニメーターが、商業アニメ制作に捕らわれず（お金の心配をせずに） 自由な発想で、存分に才能を発揮できる場があれば良いのにね。

The white haired character's smile at the end was the perfect touch

I've been literally waiting for this ever since Archipel tweeted that there will be an interview of Shingo Tamagawa and never been so hype that it's finally released! Making such a huge project all by himself, I felt the passion and dedication to relive the story inside him. I aspire to be an animator, so when I watched PUPARIA, I wanted to learn more about how the creator managed to do it all by himself. I'm glad that I encountered this masterpiece that I'm always reminding myself to keep moving forward. Even pushing myself to draw/study drawing everyday (though it's not always good haha) and train myself seriously on drawing specifically for short/feature film animation. I'm almost a college student but stopped due to finance, even so, I want to focus on daily steps toward this dream. Thank you Archipel for always bringing truly inspirational creators!

This video is amazing. I would love to see a full feature surrealist film by him someday.

I really relate to this man's ambitions and passion for creating animation. It's very inspiring to see that despite how draining and soul crushing the work can be he still held on to his vision. I really wish the animation industry would pay these guys better. They're changing the world by inspiring young artists like me.

心の中で少しモヤモヤしてた気持ちを代弁してくれたような感覚。言葉に落とし込むことも大切だなと実感しました。

Seeing Puparia reminded me of the circumstances behind Satoshi Kon's unreleased Dreaming Machine movie. After Kon's death, Masao Maruyama (Madhouse and MAPPA's founder) was so adamant of finding someone who can match Kon's vision and style among current directors at that time until he completely canned the project in favor of getting a foreign director instead up to the point when he left MAPPA and brought the project with him in Studio M2. And yet, we have Shingo Tamagawa who just pulled off a Satoshi Kon through his Puparia short, and it's a waste that Maruyama most likely never heard of this guy, let alone saw his short film at all. If there's something, I hope he gets recognized and have his own directorial debut somewhere (and hopefully be one of Maruyama's choices to finish Kon's film). Real talk, Sunrise is just sleeping on his potential he's better off working in a creative powerhouse in the likes of MAPPA and Science SARU.

あなたの作品に出会えてよかったです。

This is so moving. He has such a genuine love for art, it's so refreshing

Give this man a studio and a billion yen please. The industry needs to be led by artists with this level of vision and clarity.

This was very heartfelt and touching. An inspiration to all indie and solo creators.

It is difficult to find art of this level and quality, I am glad that there are people capable of making it

Wtf I just noticed how often I've come back to this. This is the third time this year holy.

this interview means so much to me even though i'm not even an artist. its really sad when he said, "I like the symbolism you find in manga. Its symbols are so strong that sometimes manga can be considered to be "cheap". I believe that is because what it expresses is so loud and clear, that sometimes the readers think it's too much and consider it to be cheap." thats probably one of the worst fear which creators have to struggle everyday. some words to shout as an art enthusiast, YALL ARTISTS, CREATORS, WRITERS OUT THERE STAY STRONG. BE BOLD. HAVE FAITH IN YOURSELF

He succeeded in carving that moment through animation. First time I watched Puparia, I was completely immersed.

I just wanted PUPARIA for the first time and it was unfathomably beautiful, the subtle facial movements brought so much depth and Humanity to each character. Shingo Tamagawa is such a brilliant artist and it was an absolute honor to witness his craft. Truly awe inspiring work....

Keep rebelling against the commercialization of art and life! We see you! It’s beautiful to see what a person can create when they control the means of production.

Puparia is honestly my favourite modern short animated film, it's unique beyond anything I've seen before, and feels so ALIVE

As an young artist Papuria changed my life, thank you for this behind the scene .

i think his insight is something that i honestly feel is very beautiful

OK now I'm crying ..

4:15 "今まで信じていたものが溶け始めている"っていうのがすごく共感できる。計測技術と計算科学の発展によって、人間は人間たらしめるものが何なのかについて考えなおす必要性を突きつけられた。インターネットの発達は人間が許容できるより世界がずっと乱雑なことを明らかにし、反動で局所的な同質性を高めている。「価値」はアクセス数と同義になり始めている。これが新たな世界への過渡期なのか、あるいは崩壊の始まりなのかは誰も知らない。 このドキュメンタリーを見てからPupariaを見直して思考が深まった。ありがとうございました。

he told that he didn't want to fall in to trap of hating drawing and even the simple act of it, I felt it so much. Im in an aft high school and I would love to take definite break for some time but I just can't bc it is my school

I admire him so much and animation in general. For a fraction of a story they work years. Animation are just like dreams, they let you see something different for once and for a little dream you still sleep over 6 hours.

The first time I watched Puparia was thanks to youtube recommended. I cried because it was so amazing. Both art and soundtrack

I really hope that things like this bring him more recognition, this man needs a bigger audience

廃れそうになったらまた新しいものが立つコンテンツであると信じる

Anime and animation industry is so used to put efficiency and lesser efforts higher than passion and quality. But what i think about Puparia in my opinion is like a piece of art in its traditional form. We see animations these days are only to tell a story, a plot, unforgettable characters, etc, but since Shingo is conveying his emotions through his artworks, with bizzare world building with no plot, it feels like paintings no one has the right mind to dechiper

Murakami character for real I love it

It's amazing how it took 3 years to make these 3 minutes. It's also amazing that by these 3 minutes alone he has made such a remarkable impact. I wonder what he could do if he had a whole studio behind him.

For those who want to know, the song in this video is called "Falling Through the Hourglass" by composer Sid Acharya.

I remember the first time I watched Puparia. It felt like exploring someone's subconscious, beauty, ideas, concepts everywhere, all forming a moving and emotional picture. I could feel the taste of citrus everytime I paused the video to observe the bright, patterned backgrounds. The humans made me think of neighbors, family, friends, strangers, all living and watching, even when I'm not there to see them do so. There are no words to thank Shingo for sharing his creations with the world. I feel we tend to take such beauty for granted, considering that if he chose to never share it (or he did show it to other people, but not worldwide) many of us would have never experiencied something like Puparia. Shingo seems like such a kind and hard-working person, that makes me love his work even more. I wish him the best

エンタメ全体（主に組織）に言えることだと思う。 すべてお金を回収できるかどうか前提でゲームもアニメ作っている日本の会社が今はほとんど。 それだけ日本の社会に最高のエンタメを模索する体力は残っていないと感じる。 その体力面を覆すような作品を世に送り出すには強いリーダーシップ、才能、エゴを持った人材が必要なんだろう。 そこに一石を投じるためにこの作品を作り切った彼には敬意を表したいし、彼にそのような存在になってほしい。

" Simply put, I had a strong feeling that the values shaping our world were gradually fading away I felt that the things we used to rely on and relate to were starting to collapse I believe many people had that feeling worldwide, even before coronavirus hit The fact that we couldn't be ourselves anymore somehow At the same time, we couldn't see what the future was holding for us.. I really had that feeling these past years. "

That was such a beautiful short. The visual are really out of this world

"I make animation to create new things and generate new emotions that I haven't felt before" - this is the reason I love animated films so much.

芸術という言葉がこんなに合うアニメーションは他にないと思いました

This man has a true artistic soul! He has my respect.

This is beyond inspiring

Its because of stuff like this. The feelings, thoughts, and sense of newness that is invoked with these works, that I rarely (actually don't) watch adaptations anymore. I cannot get it up for the adaptations anymore. Not even for the really really famous/hyped up ones. If I do, I never get to the end anymore. What I feel for original animation works, I cannot find in adaptations. Maybe it's the vagueness, or the freedom to interpret what Im seeing. Like my very own secret...dunno. Ahhh man. This such a good short. Puparia and this documentation both. More power to Archipel and Shingo Tamagawa!

I think the best art and animations comes from “no one asked for it but I want to make it. See what happens.”