The official documentary podcast for the stop-motion samurai film HIDARI, "Frame by Frame The Making of a Timeless Film," is now streaming. Hosting the show are first-time film director Masashi Kawamura and amateur rakugo storyteller Murontei Pirika.

HIDARI is a stop-motion samurai action film brought to life with hand-carved wooden puppets, produced together with dwarf studios and TECARAT. What began as a crowdfunding campaign has since grown into a pilot film, screenings at festivals in Japan and overseas, appearances at the Cannes Film Festival and the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, and the casting of Keanu Reeves in the lead voice role. Every step of the way, the project has been carried forward by the many people supporting it.

"Frame by Frame" follows all of that, from raising the funds to the work on set, with guests joining along the way to talk through everything it takes to bring a film to the world.

New episodes are planned on a regular basis, and we would love for you to follow the show.

◇ Show Information

• Title: Frame by Frame The Making of a Timeless Film

• Hosts: Masashi Kawamura (HIDARI original story, screenplay, director), Murontei Pirika (amateur rakugo storyteller)

Where to listen:
YouTube (video podcast): https://www.youtube.com/@teamhidari
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033XIx7KpIGF7BufPe0Y6R
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/jp/podcast/id6795795425
Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.co.jp/podcasts/75bca6e4-6241-436c-9a5a-291346afc0fa

◇ About the Stop-Motion Samurai Film HIDARI

• Genre: Action, Drama

• Technique: Stop-motion animation

• Original Story, Screenplay, Director: Masashi Kawamura (Whatever)

• Co-Director, Character Design: Iku Ogawa (dwarf studios)

• Character Design, Wood Carving, Art Direction: Takeshi Yashiro (Taiyo Kikaku / TECARAT)

• Producers: Noriko Matsumoto (nori / dwarf studios), Yusuke Tominaga (Whatever), Masami Ouchi (Taiyo Kikaku), and others

• Production Companies: dwarf studios / Whatever Co. / TECARAT

▷ Official site: https://hidari-movie.com/
▷ X: https://x.com/hidari_movie
▷ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hidari_movie/
▷ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@teamhidari

RakugakiAR has been officially registered on Edzip, a platform where teachers in Korea share the materials they use in class. It can now be used as educational content in Korean classrooms.

Edzip helps teachers and education professionals find and adopt the right digital tools with ease. By offering information and hands-on opportunities across a wide range of EdTech products, Edzip supports meaningful innovation in how classes are taught.

https://edzip.kr/learning-sw/6a1638fe5a2ee7c7724022ae

MAGIC is a streetwear collection by ANREALAGE's Kunihiko Morinaga, MagicianShin, and Masashi Kawamura that lets anyone become a magician just by wearing it. A new note asks all three about the story behind it — the balance they pursued between design, functionality, and the wonder of magic, why they refused to make it look like "magic clothing," and what it means to wear the aura of someone who can do magic.

https://note.com/whatever_co/n/n0e627c0e42f7?hl=en

A new note shares the behind-the-scenes story of AKASAKA Motion Heritage, created as part of TBS's Akasaka Entertainment City project. How did the team digitally archive the movements of Akasaka Geisha Ikuko Akasaka and translate them into an experience for the city? Creative Director Shuhei Matsuyama discusses stripping back photorealism to draw out the pure beauty of her motion, the technical prep that accounts for 85% of the final work, and designing an experience where passersby become part of the piece without realizing it.

https://note.com/whatever_co/n/ndb8b6971ee86?hl=en

Silent Cleaning, the 3D horror game that took streamers and socials by storm last summer and won the Grand Prix at the YouTube Works Awards Japan 2026, is now available on Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2. A new "Less-Scary Mode" lets players new to horror and kids enjoy it too, and tilting the controller makes for an even more real, hands-on cleaning experience.

https://store-jp.nintendo.com/item/software/D70010000125311

Whatever Taipei's Lucinda Lin and Pearson Tsim will be speaking at TIDAF, the Taipei International Digital Advertising Festival. This year's TIDAF theme is "Creative First, AI Second." In their session "Turning 'What If' into Reality," they explore how technology can serve imagination. August 19 (Wed), 10:50–11:30.

https://adm.com.tw/article/6a45fe4cfd89780001ebbd11

A new note introduces a selection of personal "My App" projects built by members of Whatever's engineering team, along with their own thoughts on why they made them. From productivity tools to apps for family and pets to pure passion projects, each one started from a very personal place — a glimpse into the source of Whatever's "make anything" spirit.

https://note.com/whatever_co/n/ne51d6d6ac771

Sumu Ueno East, an experimental apartment hotel that opened this February, features the customizable "Sumu Wall" system. Born from the question of how to make a hotel room feel truly yours even while traveling, the system is the subject of a new interview in which Designer/Planner Kyosuke Ishita and Spatial Designer/Director Takeshi Tanio share the thinking behind its design.

https://sumu-hotel.com/business/media/4uwi23qdvnx/

KAKEZAN 2026 is an event that aims to advance “Kakezan,” the creation of new value through collaboration that transcends the boundaries between industries. The theme of this first edition was “Heritage × Innovation.” With the aim of aligning perspectives on the inventions that will become “the new normal” and of building new partnerships, the event also served as the unveiling of the Inventor Garage, a new base created by renovating the press building of Toyota Motor East Japan’s former Higashi-Fuji Plant, which has delivered roughly 7.52 million vehicles through the hands of a cumulative total of more than 7,000 people.

In addition to the Woven by Toyota brand visual refresh that Whatever handled, for this event the studio was responsible for the concept work, visual design, and exhibition planning and production, giving form to Woven by Toyota’s new vision and the innovation it is advancing. At the venue, alongside the new brand visuals, technologies that connect to the social systems of the future were presented through video and spatial direction. These included the Woven City AI Vision Engine, which boasts top-tier performance as a Vision Language Model (VLM), and the Woven City Integrated ANZEN System, in which people, mobility technology, and infrastructure come together as one to support safety. In addition, numerous proof-of-concept experiments and prototypes by the Inventors participating in Woven City ahead of others were on display, making this an event that marked a firm step toward the future.

Graphics

The key visuals and graphics were developed around the concept of Toyota’s knowledge, Woven by Toyota’s technologies, and the efforts of various Inventors being “multiplied,” Kakezan, together to create new value that does not yet exist today.

 Nine Woven by Toyota Technologies on Display

Aiming for a society with zero traffic accidents, this section introduced the technologies that Woven by Toyota is developing, technologies that connect to the very social systems of the future by linking the three elements of people, mobility technology, and infrastructure. Through exhibits using video and spatial direction, and videos introducing each technology, they were conveyed to visitors in an experiential way.

• Woven City Integrated ANZEN System

• Woven City AI Vision Engine

• Woven City Data Fabric

• Woven City Infra Hub

• Woven City xEV-VPP

• Woven City Digital KAIZEN Platform

• Woven City Robot Platform

• Automated Driving

• Arene

Woven City Inventors

This section introduced the facilities and services of Woven City, a “test course for mobility,” as well as the efforts of the Inventors who are conducting proof-of-concept experiments ahead of others.

Toyota Woven City Inventor Garage

A development base born within Toyota Woven City in April 2026. Created by renovating the press building of the Higashi-Fuji Plant, this facility is a space that carries forward the history of monozukuri (manufacturing) while connecting it to the innovation of the future. Equipped with an expansive monozukuri area, proof-of-concept spaces, and lodging facilities, it accelerates the realization of the inventions and proof-of-concept experiments of the Inventors who gather in Woven City.

Links

• Official release from Toyota Motor Corporation and Woven by Toyota, Inc.

• Woven by Toyota, Inc. – KAKEZAN 2026 Highlight Reel: YouTube

• Feature on “Toyota Times”

Marking the milestone of Toyota's 100th anniversary, Woven by Toyota has announced a new visual identity. In addition to the logo refresh, corporate website, corporate video, and Woven by Toyota - internal corporate goods have been renewed. The planning, design, and production were handled by Whatever.

Background

Woven by Toyota's mission is "Driver of Mobility Transformation: Continuously challenging the conventions of mobility through human-centered innovation." The new visual identity was created to bring this mission to life.

What the New Logo Represents

The renewed brand logo retains the hexagonal outline of the previous logo, with six lines weaving three roads that represent People, Mobility Technology, and Infrastructure. Three colors : red (symbolizing Toyota), gray (harmony of diverse voices and ideas) and black (strength toward implementation) form these intersecting roads, expressing how their combined power continues to expand.

The red road representing Toyota overlaps with the black and gray "×" that signifies Kakezan (multiplication), extending that power even further. "Kakezan" means creating a force greater than any one party could achieve alone by multiplying diverse strengths, and the way these roads are woven together symbolizes how the power we create together, and the possibilities of mobility, will spread out to the world.

A Comprehensive Brand Refresh

We conducted a comprehensive brand refresh for Woven by Toyota, encompassing logo design, website (woven.toyota) content and visual asset updates, corporate video production, and Woven by Toyota - internal corporate merchandise.

・ Logo Design

・ Woven by Toyota - Internal Corporate Goods

・ Website

https://woven.toyota/

・Corporate Video

(From the website top page: https://woven.toyota/)

Related Links

• Woven by Toyota Official

• Woven by Toyota Logo Announcement

• Toyota Times