“The Depth of Yagen” Stop-motion Horror Anime Kickstarter
Animator and author Shigeru Okada has launched a Kickstarter for his stop-motion indie horror film “The Depth of Yagen”, a unique supernatural creature-feature utilising Japanese mythology and history to tell the tale of a mother trying to save her daughter from human traffickers.
Okada is an experienced animator and is currently involved in the Netflix production of Rilakkuma. This is his indie project and it is unique considering stop-motion isn’t as common as 2D animation and horror stories told by stop-motion are even rarer. The money raised will be needed for the production as well as helping create a set of “making-of” materials ranging from a book to a film. The making-of film will detail the fabrication of puppets and props, lighting, animation and editing processes. Both the film and the materials are something Okada hopes to use to inspire aspiring animators and he will do so by putting them online for people to access.
The anime Okada is working on will be split into five episodes, each lasting 7-8 minutes. The film will be animated in 2019 and released in 2020 in two versions:
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a short version (approximately three minutes long) distributed for free on Okada’s YouTube channel (NARIOMARUDARKSIDE) which focuses on the story and supernatural atmosphere and forgoes anything extreme,
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an uncut version which will be the full episode and made available on payable video viewing sites, such as VIMEO (One episode: 300JPY. All five episodes: 1,500JPY).
Subtitles will be available in the following languages: Japanese. English and Spanish.
The minimum Kickstarter pledge is £3 and that gives a person access to all five episodes. After that, rewards keep increasing including access to a PDF version of the “Making-of Book”, the physical “Making-of Book” and a DVD copy of the anime.
To find out more, head to the Kickstarter page.
