Wada Atsushi is a relatively new animator. What I found really interesting about his start into the industry was that he actually started out with barely animated paintings, very simplistic and minimalist in nature. In an article I read, the author states that it’s getting increasingly hard to find any physical copies of his work.
Something that Wada values very much in his artistic process is the concept of Ma. It is a way of seeing filled and empty space, along with noise and quiet, movement and stillness, etc. Ma explains that to have empty space/noise/stillness you must have the opposite equivalent of it first, and I got the impression that that’s harmonious and something to strive for artistically in Japanese culture. It seems very important to Wada, especially as his work develops.
Another thing very valuable to Wada in his animation is the importance of simplicity. He draws his characters pudgy and simple, although he does say that they’re all very different people even if most of them have simple, black hair and chubby bodies. With this he lays scenes out in front of a minimal background, with little to no color in some instances.
In an article published by a university student, he quotes:
“It is important to think about how an animated movement affects the silence that follows it, and how that connects to the movement that follows the silence.”
With Ma, everything is connected, so animation is dependent on it and the sequence of movements that make up a story.
I honestly think it’s an interesting mindset. I can definitely see it even in screenshots of his work too which I think is a very valuable strength to have. If the movement in your animation is evident in a single frame it shows you really understand your craft.
Moving on to cultural impact
I think his work definitely has some cultural impact. If anything I think Ma is a popular concept used in Japan and he’s taking that and making it his own. Not only that but there’s also strong humor and absurdism present in his work. I think Wada is a really cool guy. He experiments with a lot throughout his career and doesn’t seem to be afraid of trying new techniques or mediums, so I think that’s something good to learn from especially if you shy away from branching out of your most comfortable medium, especially at Interlochen.
Okay so to share a work of his: definitely My Exercise.
I can’t get a picture of the gameplay in here but it’s a video game, which I thought was sick because it’s his first video game and he mainly focuses on normal films and short animations. It’s simple but in his style and you basically just do sit-ups but there are little hidden fun things that pop up
And finally an anime that inspires me is Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
Based on the game Cyberpunk 2077. It’s awesome both the game and show, but play the game first
It’s very well made and accurate, I could go into more detail but I already shared it last semester
Citations:
“Atsushi Wada: The Quiet Master — Talking Shorts.” Talkingshorts.com, 2022, talkingshorts.com/atsushi-wada-the-quiet-master/. Accessed 17 Jan. 2025.
Animate. “Animate Projects – Atsushi Wada.” Animateprojectsarchive.org, 2025, animateprojectsarchive.org/films/by_artist/w/a_wada. Accessed 17 Jan. 2025.
IMDb. “Atsushi Wada – Producer, Director, Writer.” IMDb, 2022, www.imdb.com/name/nm3514433/. Accessed 17 Jan. 2025.
“AniList.” AniList, 2025, anilist.co/staff/132778/Atsushi-Wada. Accessed 17 Jan. 2025.