Watch HIDARI, an impressive stop-motion samurai short

The 5-minute short film, dubbed “Hidari,” was uploaded to YouTube and was written and directed by Masashi Kawamura, creative director of Japanese advertising company Whatever Co..

When most people think of anime, they think of either traditional 2D animated or 3DCG animated series or films. However, the medium of animation (let alone Japanese animation) is virtually unlimited in the breadth of materials and techniques one can use to produce dazzling works of artistry and expression. Case in point: This ridiculously dope stop-motion short about a pissed-off wood carver-turn-samurai who goes full-on “Lone Wolf and Cub” on a small army of ninjas before busting out an arm-mounted chainsaw à la Ash from Evil Dead and carving them into pulp.

The 5-minute short film, titled “Hidari,” was published on YouTube on Wednesday. Written and directed by Masashi Kawamura, the creative director of the Japan-based advertising company Whatever Co., the short was created as a proof-of-concept film for Kawamura’s true goal: To produce a feature-length stop-motion fantasy action movie inspired by the life of Jingoro Hidari, a renowned 17th-century sculptor whose life is otherwise shrouded in mystery. Inspired by his sculptures, the short reimagines Hidari as a carpenter who, after having been betrayed by his colleagues and losing his right arm, becomes an absurdly skilled swordsman who embarks on a decades-long quest for retribution.

All of the puppets and the majority of props in Hidari are made of wood, carved by Japanese stop-motion studio Tecarat (Gon The Little Fox) and animated by dwarf studios, known for their work on such anime as Rilakkuma and Kaoru, Beastars, and Oni: Thunder God’s Tale. On top of that, the short film’s set designer Yoshihiro Nose revealed that the set itself was built out of wood from an actual Edo-period wood warehouse.

Kawamura and co. have launched a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign alongside the short in order to generate funds to produce a feature-length version of Hidari, with a projected release date of 2028. Interest appears to be substantive, with over $4,000 of the campaign’s $14,510 goal already generated within hours of the pilot short’s release.