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Robot Studios Creates Animated Short for Nagoya Railroad

The Nagoya Railroad Co. released a short animated promotional video meant to embody the railroad's slogan, “Connecting Hearts, Carrying You to Tomorrow” this week. Titled, “To the Place Where Important People Wait, Carrying Important Feelings,” the video features the song, "Kono Machi" (This Town), which Japanese folk singer Kazumasa Oda (Hikawa Maru Monogatari, The Snow Queen) wrote for the Nagoya Railroad in 2014.

Robot Studios, an independent Tokyo-based animation company, animated the short. The company has previously worked on Nanami-chan, La Maison en Petits Cubes, The Last -Naruto the Movie-, and the live-action films Space Battleship Yamato [2010] and Assassination Classroom.

In the video, the protagonist, Miki, is traveling back to her hometown with her fiancé so that she can introduce him to her parents. On the train ride home, she reminisces about her childhood and recalls how she became estranged from her father.

The trains that appear in the animation are modeled after real Nagoya Railroad trains, including the iconic red train, a special express train, and even one of the older Panoramic trains that is no longer in service. The train station is drawn to look like Nagoya's Central Station, and the train sounds and background noise are the real deal.

Also, Oda, the vocalist of the background song, makes a brief cameo as a background character while the protagonist is reminiscing.

The Nagoya Railroad Co. is planning a special poster display, featuring images from the video and the lyrics to the song. The display will be installed in train stations at the beginning of August.

Source: Anime! Anime!