The animation archiving project is an ongoing research collaboration with Niigata University Archive Center for Anime Studies (ACASiN). It enables researchers and students to study and contextualise a collection of production materials, primarily consisting of conceptual arts, visual development sketches, drawings, notes, memos, and early-stage storyboards from the mid-1970s to around 2000s. These materials encompass an often forgotten yet significant research resources essential for understanding key aspects of Japanese animation production cultures and practices. These intermediary materials provide a unique opportunity to discover hidden voices and to avoid canonisation in animation discourse by studying the artefacts.
Cover image: The exhibition “A World is Born: The Emerging Arts and Designs in 1980s Japanese Animation” (19-31 March 2018) hosted DECK, Singapore. The exhibition materials came from the intermediary materials and documents of Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise (1987).