ALBAWABA - Even years after its 2020 release, Shingo Tamagawa's 'Puparia' remains a source of inspiration for many artists, animators, and filmmakers due to its breathtaking visuals and thought-provoking symbolic imagery.
Unsatisfied with his time at Sunrise and the state of the commercial anime industry, Japanese animator Shingo Tamagawa took matters into his own hands and created Puparia. However, the three-minute, visually stunning film didn't come without its fair share of hardships.
Tamagawa said during a documentary that "No matter how hard your work" and explained further that "animation is something that is consumable."
Puparia: This 3-minute anime took 3 years to make
According to Cartoon Brew, Tamagawa quit his job at Sunrise and took a year-long break to refocus, which later resulted in the creation of Puparia.
Tamagawa further explained how he was inspired by Studio Ghibli's Hayao Miyazaki and Sony's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse for the short anime's art style.
For only three minutes of visuals, it took Tamagawa three long years to complete Puparia, as every frame was hand-drawn by him. The short left viewers in shock for its details, with many stating that every frame can be hung in a museum for its gorgeous and haunting visuals.
PUPARIA (Shingo Tamagawa/ YouTube)
The short anime left viewers with more questions than answers, each walking away with a different analysis, since Puparia doesn't necessarily have a story. Additionally, we believe that Puparia's meaning is up to the viewer's interpretation due to its surreal nature.
Webster's Dictionary described the word 'Puparia' as a noun that means "a rigid outer shell formed from the larval skin that covers some pupae (as of a dipteran fly)."
