Archive of Our Own ^beta

Notes:

This is the most personal vid I've ever made. At first I thought the idea was too weird to even attempt - who vids a city? But then I got a fantastic response to a short early draft from my closest friends, and decided to go for it. I'm very glad I did! This was the most time consuming vid I've ever made, but I had an absolute blast with the entire process, despite of (or maybe because of) the powerful pangs of nostalgia throughout. I couldn't believe how much familiar scenery I found in all of the animated sources I collected: my university, of course, but also the street and train station right by my dorm! The Shinkyogoku movie theater and Animate (with Captain Animate poster)! And of course all the spots to go touristing, but to me, it was more special to see the everyday sights of the Kamo and Takano rivers, the busy streets, and the beautiful mountains, all through the changing seasons.

But I don't think I would've gotten the idea to vid Kyoto at all if I hadn't already been a huge fan of Takénobu's music. His Toki Doki always evoked that nostalgia in me - and reading some interviews and such, it seems that he lived in Kyoto in 2003 - two years before I spent my exchange year there. (I went back and studied and worked in Kyoto city, Kyoto prefecture, and Osaka prefecture for a few more years.) I've linked his webpage and Bandcamp above - if you liked the song in the vid, go check him out! His latest album (at the moment), Cosplay Karaoke, is fantastic, and all in Japanese.

Finally, special thanks to Shayera (again!) and Ouichirou-san for helping me interpret the lyrics for the translated subtitles. Any mistakes despite their help are, of course, my own.