Japan: The Strange Country is an infographic animation, created as a final thesis project by a Japanese designer Kenichi Tanaka. This exceptionally executed 11 minute video examines Japan and its culture, taking a step back and observing it from a global perspective.
While the content of this piece may appear quite judgmental (and gets pretty negative at times) it is definitely worth seeing, as it presents the view of this very unique country from the globally-aware citizen’s perspective. On top of that, the animation itself is as good as it gets in the world of infographics – smart transitions, easy to understand data representation and memorable design make this piece a must-see for all motion designers.
In case you get confused about the you did at the end of the narration, keep in mind that this video was originally created for Japanese audience, and only recently received an English translation.
Update:
For some (unknown to me) reason, Kenichi decided to take off the English-language version from Vimeo. I am keeping the embedded video above, in case it returns, but meanwhile you may watch the original, in Japanese.
Credits:
Design, Animation & Script: Kenichi Tanaka
Japanese Narration & Script Editing: Yuki Ito (a.k.a. Pori)
English Narration & Translation: Emily Millar