The Diary of Ochibi – Moyoco Anno’s stop motion ode to the seasons

From comic book artist Moyoco Anno and writer/director Masashi Kawamura, this is The Diary of Ochibi, a delightful stop motion animation that follows Ochibi-san as he explores spring, summer, autumn, and winter.

Note how the detailed sets honor Japanese seasonal traditions: Bento boxes and spring picnics under the cherry blossom trees, traditional summer fans and fireworks, fall leaf piles, and making both snowmen and warm tea in wintertime. The incredible amount of work it took to animate Ochibi-san frame by frame is evident in these behind-the-scenes photos:

There are more photos and storyboards at Animator Expo.

Of course, we also know Kawamura from his book Rainbow In Your Hand, and his contributions to Pitagora Suichi, the brilliant, must-watch series of Japanese Rube Goldberg machines.

Next: Watch Design Ah! while it’s still online, and enjoy more seasons in stop motion with Tinybop’s Paper to Plants.