We’ve covered a number of chapters in the story of shorts so far, from the first boom that put them on the map to begin with, to how that legacy was carried and expanded upon over the years. We’ve also seen multiple mentions throughout regarding Yama no Susume’s position as the most integral part of the story, yet never truly delved into why that’s the case. Worry not, though. I don’t want you to just take my word for it…
Last time we took a look at how the history of short anime, which had been rather unremarkable up until this point despite some interesting exceptions, encountered a paradigm shift in 2013 that lead to the proliferation to many auteur-led projects and the embracement of digital-focused animation, which was still seen as relatively unconventional at the time. We also completely skipped over Yama no Susume, another integral factor to this new era and arguably the most crucial part of the story overall, so…