Ai ga areba Daijobu

Urey and an older man share a quiet life in a laboratory by a lake. Their routine is disrupted when an unusual star appears in the Ursa Minor constellation. As stars vanish one by one, the constellation slowly transforms into the shape of a fish. To retrieve the missing stars, the two set out on a voyage across the Milky Way, heading toward the mysterious domain of this fish.

While journeying through the dream realm, I came across a tiny planet called Phantasmagoria... Stories of life on the Glassy Ocean, a snowman traveling south, and the moment the enormous lightbulb finally lit up. Rumors of a great meteor, a planetarium technician's confessions, and experiments designed to create an artificial moon. Brief tales that reveal crystalline, transparent moments—a blend of the whimsical world drawn by Tamura Shigeru and the ambient music composed by Teshikai Utollo.

In a realm where time has frozen, a colossal whale rises from a smooth, glassy sea and gracefully soars across the sky for twelve hours. The visual brilliance comes from a distinctive technique: the artist employs the transparency and solidity of 3D computer graphics solely for the motionless ocean and icy glaciers. Meanwhile, the people, the whale, and the boats are drawn by hand, creating a sharp visual contrast that immerses viewers in a surreal world. This animated short unfolds as a poetic fantasy, weaving a true sense of wonder. Though the process demands immense effort, the outcome is truly breathtaking.