#Sakura Fujiwara Releases “Hatsukoi no Nioi” Anime Music Video

Singer-songwriter Sakura Fujiwara‘s YouTube channel has uploaded an anime music video for “Hatsukoi no Nioi,” her upcoming digital single which releases on May 20 at 6 PM JST.

The “Hatsukoi no Nioi” (“First Love’s Scent”) music video doubles as a five-and-a-half-minute short film where the scent of the main character’s scarf — notably the most colorful object in the almost monochrome opening sections — causes memories of a past romance to flood into her mind. Most of the shots are from the perspective of her then-boyfriend’s camera, and the visuals, especially the arresting character drawings, impress throughout the animation. 

A short post-credits scene is included at the end.

Animator Maho Takagi (Pokémon WCS2023 “Kimi ni Aeta!” animation CM character designer, Suzume co-prop designer) directed the video and also handled the storyboards, character designs, animation supervision, color direction, and editing. Other production credits include: 

• In-between animation director: Tomomi Kimpara (Suzume in-between animation checker)
• Art director: Yumi Ishii (Kaze no Matasaburou co-art director)
• Color designer: Tomoko Yamamoto (Suzume)
• Compositing director: Yuki Teramoto (Gintama: The Semi-final)
• Production: CoMix Wave Films