Hello. Is it really July already?
I feel like I just finished struggling through my May monthly report—and yet here we are.
What is going on with the passage of time?
Today is July 7th, 2025—Tanabata.
I had hoped to post an update on the 1st, but since today is a bit of a special day, I decided to go with this timing instead.What are your wishes for Tanabata this year?
Before I get into the monthly report, I have a small announcement to make. Let me start with that.
I am in charge of the music for this project.
You can find introductions to the participating musicians in thisarticle.
The story is based on Chinese mythology and originally created by Shinobu Takayama.
Just hearing the words “Chinese mythology” likely gives you a sense of the grand scale of the narrative—but Haigakura uses its mythological elements as one great cog in a larger mechanism,
while focusing deeply on complex human relationships.
Little by little, the story reveals what it is that the protagonist is truly seeking.
The music is composed by Taro Umebayashi.
For this project, I contributed by performing the piano parts for the score and assisting with the arrangement.
All three of the above titles will begin airing in July.
I’m truly grateful to be involved in so many wonderful projects.
The works page has also been updated—including past projects I hadn’t added before.
That was a bit long-winded, but that concludes the announcements.
No personal news to share, sadly.
About June
I watched a lot of films in June.To start, on June 1st I attended a screening event for The Handmaiden.
Back in my student days, I saw Oldboy, and the one-take action scene and striking art direction left such a vivid impression—they’ve been burned into my brain ever since.
The Handmaiden had that same impact: I was first captivated by the art direction, then haunted by the compositions that looked like perfectly framed paintings. After watching it for the first time, I even came down with a kind of “brain fever.”
It was only after watching that I realized it was directed by the same person as Oldboy. The art direction was also done by Ryu Seong-hee, just like before.
I’d been hoping to see it in a theater again, so I was really glad to have the chance.
Aside from that, I ended up watching mostly zombie movies.
There wasn’t any particular reason—it just kind of turned out that way. Also some sci-fi.
It’s been a while since I binge-watched this many films in such a short period.
There were quite a few I found myself thinking, “If only I’d seen this in the theater when it came out…”
But as the saying goes, hindsight is 20/20—and at the time, I must’ve had something else I wanted to prioritize.
That’s what I told myself, anyway.
And, uh—I’ve also been obsessed with Pikmin 4.
I still have dreams about Dandori challenges.
TThat’s about it.
I’d like to get back to focusing on my own work as well.