Motoyama Seisakusho 100-shuunen Animation

Before I begin this review, it's worth noting that I am the first to review this title on MAL, and even the first to give it a score at all. It is my belief that every anime deserves at least one proper review, deserves to have its content engaged and reckoned with. No matter how obscure it is, and no matter how long ago it was made, an anime still represents the creative passion of its creators, the hopes and dreams of the team that made it, and as such, I will give this one a fair and honest accounting here. Motoyama Seisakyusho's 100th AnniversaryAnimation is, unlike its name, a short 2-episode ONA which was produced to celebrate the 100th anniversary of a company which specializes in various kinds of fluid control mechanisms and valves which are used in a wide array of industrial settings. Despite how obscure it is, and how niche its target audience must be, it's available on YouTube with subtitles in English. Despite its admittedly bizarre premise, it's a surprisingly poignant recounting of how those things which go unseen and unnoticed in society are often still of great importance, and the whole work glows with a sense of pride and appreciation for the kind of niche industrial work that they do, and have been doing since 1924. Especially the continuity of fathers and sons working at the company, taking pride in the things they made that make the world work, even if they can't see them. I found this profound and uplifting in a totally unexpected kind of way, and that makes the story the strongest aspect of this anime, which was also totally unexpected. It helps that the art is gorgeous, with a crisp sense of visual design that is rich, detailed, and colorful. It feels as though it is finely tuned with love and care in such a way that reflects the industrial valve products that they specialize in. The inclusion of tsukumogami, spirits in Shinto folklore that inhabit old tools, is a fun addition that gives the title an added sense of care and playfulness. The sound is solid, meeting the basic standards of quality for the time, though there's not much else to say about it. The characters are strong, and feel natural in the setting their in. It'd be easy for them to feel out of place in such an odd environment, but they're completely believable, and this anime makes it easy to care about them. Overall, this anime is a shockingly well-produced little title, and if I were in the market for industrial valve products, I know exactly where I'd take my business.