A Branch of a Pine Is Tied Up

A stop-motion anime bundled with the 42nd compiled book volume of Haruichi Furudate's Haikyu!! manga featuring the Karasuno team as puppets.

A series of 16 "short stories" created by the creator's group Images Forum.

In the spring of 2020, Yugo's Grandmother travels from the countryside to finally spend some quality time with Yugo. The two see a "comedy show" in the park together and later that night, Yugo has a good time telling his family about his day out. However, the next day Covid-19 restrictions are put in place in town and Yugo is stuck at home. Then, he learns that his grandmother is not feeling well. At first, Yugo patiently waits at home for things to return to normal, but eventually he gets bored and silently slips out of the house…

The Seven Lucky Gods (or kami, meaning both "hair" and "gods") live in the Takada’s barber shop in Tokyo—a set based on a real-life now-lost local store close to Murata’s heart—where they play charming tricks on the family of four.

In the first episode in a series of films centered on The Great East Japan Earthquake, an amnesiac wolf traces his past and escapes from hunters who are after him in an eerily beautiful moonscape.

The story, set in a village covered in clouds, depicts the bond between a boy, Luka, and his childhood friend, Rosa. One day, Rosa, who has the power of the sun, hears from a mysterious duo that there is a way to clear the clouds. Luka, on the other hand, is attracted to a traveling band that visits the village and decides to leave...

Short animated film by Tomoyasu Murata.

Short animated film by Tomoyasu Murata.

Short animated film by Tomoyasu Murata.

The sign to change from despair to hope is an accumulation of trifling matters which touch our hearts, such as a single flower, a beautiful sunset, or a girl with a smile.

Short animated film by Tomoyasu Murata.

Short pilot film for Riku ni Agatta Ningyo no Hanashi, a stop motion animation adaptation of Randall Jarrell's The Animal Family children's novel.

The main character finds a ticket and a small box in "a room in an apartment" on the boundary between dream and reality. I wake up after sleeping, and when I fall asleep again, I'm on the "Sannokan Railway". A ticket transports him to the city of fantasy, "Sannohako Peninsula". Products of the past and scenery seen somewhere. The main character is led to a nostalgic place where he saw someone at the Hyakushiki Ryokan "Soran no Ma", which overlooks the sea. Full of sorrow and full of hope that they might be able to get it back. Through the journey, the man faces his deep sorrow.

Short animation by Tomoyasu Murata.

Short stop-motion animation by Tomoyasu Murata. A remake of an old movie called "tomorrow".