We rarely feature Flash anime here, but I spotted this unusual piece over at Newgrounds and had to share. It’s titled Cooking Sama and it was created by Misaki Watanabe at Studio Hasai. It gets sexually suggestive around 2:50, but there’s nothing worth hiding from your boss.

The lead story in the Asia section of Business Week online is titled Japan Goes for Animation in a Flash. Written by Hiroko Tashiro, a writer in Business Week’s Tokyo bureau, the article details Ryo Ono’s recent success with Sguy and the Family Stone, or Sugai-kun as its called in Japan. According to the article, Ono self-published his own DVDs, eventually selling 5,600 copies and nearly US$100,000. In the article’s accompanying image gallery The Adventures of Yawaraka Tank is mentioned along with Hazumu Sakuta’s Dark Cat, projects regularly discussed on the Japanese Flash-focused blog Flagama.

Two Flash-animated features are also discussed; Eagle Talon, which was discussed here a few weeks back, and Coffy the Cemetery Girl. The article touches on the lower animation quality of these projects, which I wouldn’t argue with. But quality isn’t the focus of the article – instead it’s about how one animator can reach a massive audience.

Tashiro unveils some mis-information (that Flash is common “in most web browsers” – untrue: the Flash Player is in most web browsers), but also some great quotes:

Yet today Japan is a country of armchair animators who are shaking up the whole anime studio system. An aspiring animator with a desktop PC, some server capacity, and good working knowledge of multimedia programs such as Adobe Flash (or the Macromedia Flash and Shockwave Player programs) can generate professional animation that instantaneously can reach a global audience.“Individual creators had few ways of getting their work seen by ordinary people, but with Flash and a broadband connection, they could put their animation out on the market in an unconventional way,” says Makoto Sayama, an anime creator who organized the Japan Web Anime Convention (JAWACON) in Osaka in 2005 to provide business opportunities for independent creators.

“Flash animation is the future shape of Japanese cartoons and animation,” figures Kentaro Takemura, a critic who teaches the history of manga and anime at Tama Art University. “One individual can do everything on a low budget.”

Notably missing from this Japanese Flash animation round-up are Ryosuke Aoike and Miyasuke, the person behind Nightmare City, a huge cult-hit on the internet.

Osamu Tezuka is considered by most to be the inventor of the ‘large eyes’ anime look. He created ‘Astro Boy,’ ‘Kimba the White Lion,’ and countless other classics. He died almost 2 decades ago, but his legacy lives on through his extensive library of properties, comics and an elaborate website devoted to his craft. He never animated in Flash, but the intro to his website features his most famous characters, brought to life in fluid Flash animation.

Remember Iyasakado’s ‘Steel?’ Some excellent Flash animation out of Japan – and I really like the loose, ink-line shading style. Well, there’s quite a bit more to see from Iyasakado, and today we look at a new installment from the ‘Steel Fantasia’ series. Clocking in at 1:30 minutes, this short features a build-up to a battle, and of course, tanks – the staple of Iyasakado’s work.

Thanks to the Gil Crows website for the link.

Alright everyone – have we taken our meds this morning? Good. I don’t want any convulsing out there, and today’s Flash animation link provides just the right ingredients for some tongue swallowing.

Let’s see, we’ve got tiny tanks with eyes caught in a catastrophic war, some sort of custard or flan, little baby tanks with pacifiers, hungry kittens, tank-eating mosquitoes and a fruit stand. So you might want to bite down on a pencil or take a half-dose of a tranquilizer before watching ‘The Legend of the Yawaraka Tank, Chapter 1.’

It’s the creation of Webent (or maybe Jugongordie – not sure) who seem to have quite the following in Japan. I performed some translation of the Japanese text on their site, and I believe the small tanks are rice cakes. Now it all makes perfect sense, doesn’t it?