If you asked me what animation director I would most like to work with, the first name that would come to mind would be Satoshi Tomioka. He is responsible for the fantastic Usavich Rabbits that ran on MTV Japan.
So I am thrilled to find new work from Tomioka’s company, Kanaban Graphics. Inazma Delivery Service is a series of short videos on “Space Shower TV” The delivery service employee is a pig-like character named Hemingway, and he becomes responsible for a lost space alien, named Bytheway. Bytheway always wears a shark costume. If you like Usavich Rabbits, you will no doubt enjoy Inazma Delivery Service. It has an identical format, with very short episodes stringing together a longer story. It has a similar 8 bit video game music track. Also, these two characters are very similar to the Usavich Rabbits, Kirenenko and Putin. One of them is a nervous character who worries and sweats. The other has unpredictable fits of rage. It seems as if Tomioka likes this particular combination. He probably finds them effective in creating situations that are both comedic and dramatic. Artists do well when they know their signature style, and spend time exploring the possibilities.
Inazma Delivery Service introduces an improvement over Usavich, by having a somewhat emotional moment in the story. Episode nine is a powerful 2 minutes. Be sure to watch that far.
The show is almost 100 % visual comedy. It is silly and bizarre and full of high energy gags. Below, you can see the first ten episodes, which I pieced together from YouTube.
Help! This series is so charming, I’ve fallen in love with the couple videos I could find, but I *cannot* figure out how to watch the whole series from within the United States—ideally streaming online. I’m willing to pay for them, if that’s necessary… I even found them on Amazon Japan, but my US log-in doesn’t work. Do you have any suggestions?
Oh no, I just saw the YouTube videos went off line. That’s a shame. Sometimes they get reposted again by someone else, so keep checking. I bought a dvd of Usavich Rabbits off eBay, so maybe it will become available there. If you find them, please let me know. Thanks!
I’ll check eBay, and will let you know if I learn anything. Do you happen to know who owns these shorts? Maybe they sell DVDs, or know where videos might exist. Thanks ~~