Animation Runner Kuromi
Encyclopedia
is an OVA
Anime
film produced by Yumeta Co; part 1 in 2001 and part 2 in 2004. It is a parody
of the anime production business itself. It was released on DVD
in North America by Central Park Media
.
. She decides that animation is something she wants to do, and so enrolls in animation school. When she gets out of school, she is delighted to find a job at a small animation studio named Studio Petit. The director of the studio shows her around and gives her the nickname "Kuromi," a name meant to abbreviate her own.
Very soon after Mikiko arrives the director falls seriously ill and leaves his post, but not before he appoints Mikiko with the job of Production Desk Manager, on the second episode of the studio's current anime, Time Journeys.
The audience follows Mikiko's frantic attempts and schemes to convince the studio's artists to work harder and produce their key frames in time to send them for production.
Many of the problems Kuromi faces are the same as those faced by software project managers. The second episode is a classic example of what Ed Yourdon calls a "Death March" in his book of the same name, and many of the solutions Kuromi comes up with, particularly the use of triage, are the same as those found in the book.
Original video animation
, abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation...
Anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
film produced by Yumeta Co; part 1 in 2001 and part 2 in 2004. It is a parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of the anime production business itself. It was released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
in North America by Central Park Media
Central Park Media
Central Park Media was an American multimedia entertainment company based in New York City, New York, that was active in the distribution of East Asian cinema, television series, anime, manga and manhwa titles in North America prior to its bankruptcy in 2009...
.
Animation Runner Kuromi 1
The plot revolves around a girl called Mikiko "Kuromi" Oguro who grows up watching the fictional anime Luis Monde IIILupin III
, also known as Lupin the 3rd, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kazuhiko Kato under the pen name of Monkey Punch. The story follows the adventures of a gang of thieves led by Arsène Lupin III, the grandson of Arsène Lupin, the gentleman thief of Maurice Leblanc's series of...
. She decides that animation is something she wants to do, and so enrolls in animation school. When she gets out of school, she is delighted to find a job at a small animation studio named Studio Petit. The director of the studio shows her around and gives her the nickname "Kuromi," a name meant to abbreviate her own.
Very soon after Mikiko arrives the director falls seriously ill and leaves his post, but not before he appoints Mikiko with the job of Production Desk Manager, on the second episode of the studio's current anime, Time Journeys.
The audience follows Mikiko's frantic attempts and schemes to convince the studio's artists to work harder and produce their key frames in time to send them for production.
Animation Runner Kuromi 2
Mikiko "Kuromi" Oguro is still working as Production Desk Manager at Studio Petit, and thanks to the excellent job she did, she is now in charge of 3 anime series. Luckily for Mikiko this time around she has some help from a veteran producer in the form of Takashimadaira. Unfortunately Takashimadaira is concerned only with getting the product out on time, even if it means cutting on the quality of the product. This leaves Mikiko with a difficult decision on which is the more important, the quality of the product or the deadline.Commentary
After the anime, the original film included a very short live-action documentary in which several anime artists give their opinion of the film's representation of the anime business, and the making of "Animation Runner Kuromi" itself is discussed.Many of the problems Kuromi faces are the same as those faced by software project managers. The second episode is a classic example of what Ed Yourdon calls a "Death March" in his book of the same name, and many of the solutions Kuromi comes up with, particularly the use of triage, are the same as those found in the book.