The mysterious, yellow-masked Storyteller is a man whose true name and origin are both unknown. He appears at dusk where children gather and recites sinister tales based on Japanese urban legends, to which his young audience eerily intakes. However, the Storyteller is no ordinary teller of tales. He incorporates a kamishibai, a traditional paper-scrolling device, to add visuals to his already demented narration. A series of short horror stories, Yami Shibai begins with a bachelor who, after moving into a new apartment, immediately starts sensing a malevolent glare being pressed into him. A single talisman rests on his ceiling, but he has no way of knowing it is one of the few safeguards that separate him from a bottomless pit of suffering. Each story is more terrifying, more appalling, and more sickening than the last as the Storyteller’s audience find themselves being sucked into the vicious world of his words. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

A woman is pronounced to be ill, but it is too much for her to accept. Her thoughts and worries continually change to makes a strange and mysterious world. 1st year work 2016 by Yume Ukai, Tokyo University of the Arts, Graduate School of Film and New Media, Department of Animation. (Source: Geidai Animation)

After seeing her jump onto a subway at the last second and getting her ankle crushed between the doors, Nishi reconnects with his high school sweetheart, Myon. Nishi is still very much in love with Myon, but is shocked to learn that she is engaged to another man. Nishi agrees to meet Myon’s fiancé at her family’s Yakitori restaurant, but members of the Yakuza storm the joint and murder Nishi when he tries to stop them from raping Myon. Nishi, now dead, wakes up and meets a constantly shapeshifting god, who mocks him for dying. The god tells Nishi to walk into a portal and disappear from existence, which Nishi rejects, choosing instead to sprint past the god and reanimate. With a new outlook on life and knowledge of how the Yakuza are going to attack him, Nishi kills one of the Yakuza with his own gun, fleeing in a stolen car with Myon and her sister. Acclaimed director Masaaki Yuasa’s debut film, Mind Game’s constantly shifting visuals tell a story about living one’s life without regrets that is unlike any other. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Shinya Tsukamoto’s animated promo for the Ca’ Foscari Cinema in Venice. (Source: Letterboxd)

G9+1 film.

A Parade for three managers and four performers. (Source: Yamamura Animation)

In a totalitarian and male chauvinist world, a female high-heeled shoe named Mulan Hua rebels against the baby shoe factory to protect her baby girl from being transformed into a male shoe. To raise her daughter, she later has to disguise herself as a male sturdy shoe and works day and night in a capitalist cigarette factory. The story is not only about a mother’s sacrifice and a feminist’s revenge, but also has a political undertone of the intoxication of power. (Source: mulanfestival.com)

Five years ago, a string of grisly murders shook the city to its core and now the rumors have begun once more. Boogiepop… Everyone knows about Boogiepop: meet her one dark night and you are taken. People tell each other the stories and laugh: no one believes that she can possibly exist in this day and age. Still, strange things appear to be going on and the darkness is taking on many forms. Something is out there. Are you safe? (Source: RightStuf)

A collection of seven individual and unique shorts which range from touching to downright bizarre. With each story different from the last, we encounter monsters going to school, a man who has a hard time dealing with himself, and a child who learns the hard way about the circle of life, as well as many other unique characters and experiences. A journey through the minds of the most prolific artists in Japan, this compilation truly is the setting of a Genius Party. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

For the second time, the masked storyteller returns to tell children tales and legends of horror and woe, such as the tale of a ventriloquist’s dummy, a locker that grants wishes, a capsule toy machine that returns lost possessions, and a strange food called Ominie-san. Building on the foundation that was laid by the first, Yami Shibai 2 is a collection of Japanese scary stories of the unknown and the occult that are truly terrifying, narrated in a style of art that mimics kamishibai storytelling. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Usagi is a two-and-a-half minute short-film produced by Team Silent. It features many Robbie the Rabbits of varying colors in a hospital-like setting as they walk around, wheel gurneys, and ride elevators. (Source: Silent Hill Wiki)

Short animation by Mirai Mizue made with an iPad and McLaren’s Workshop. Dedicated to Norman McLaren.

A rusted door opens to a decrepit apartment filled with darkness. Inside, the masked Storyteller waits to spin more twisted tales of horror, inviting all to listen. In one story, a woman is tormented by her past sins; in another, a man visits a chilling art exhibit, where things quickly go awry when he ignores the warnings regarding taking photographs. That is not all, though—an unsuspecting woman hears strange noises from her veranda, but when her boyfriend investigates, he receives the shock of his life; a lady receives a frantic call from her sister, who begs her to come to a phone booth, but when she arrives, she realizes that things are not as they appear; and a man looks for one of his belongings in his little sister’s room, only to soon discover that a malevolent presence lives there. The Storyteller is all too eager to share these tales, which will no doubt shock and terrify his audience. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Hashtags: Yami Shibai 7, Yamishibai: Japanese Ghost Stories Seventh Season, Theater of Darkness 7th Season, Japanese Ghost Stories 7, 闇芝居 7期, Theatre of Darkness: Yamishibai 7

Once again, the mysterious storyteller draws in the ears of any willing to listen to his macabre tales of madness—ones that could happen to anyone, no matter who they might be. The ghastly stories delve into the cases of teenagers testing their courage at an abandoned home; children navigating nefarious family traditions; malicious apparitions haunting the lives of innocent people; individuals helplessly watching their loved ones slowly go insane; a woman growing increasingly concerned when her husband’s behavior changes after eating something odd; and an evil snowman or two. These chilling tales promise to leave no soul unstirred in the most disturbing way yet. [Written by MAL Rewrite]
Hashtags : Yami Shibai 8, Yamishibai: Japanese Ghost Stories Eighth Season, Yamishibai: Japanese Ghost Stories 8,闇芝居 8期

An animated short film produced by past students of Taku Furukawa based on colors.

Late at night, in a clearing within a dark fog-filled forest, there sits a kamishibai storyboard. A visitor approaches, and suddenly, the fog recedes. A shape begins to take form beside the board—this figure is the masked Storyteller, who once again starts to spin tales of horror and despair. The events described in these macabre tales might happen to anyone, even your neighbors or friends: a group of girls bully one of their members in a cave, only to find themselves the victims of a dark presence; a boy with scopophobia moves to the countryside, but he still cannot escape the eyes of others; a man has a window that won’t stay closed, and is the recipient of strange phone calls; and a salaryman steals an umbrella on a rainy day, but this seemingly insignificant act leads to consequences he never expected. Visitors may enjoy the Storyteller’s offerings, but they should also be vigilant so that they don’t wind up as the subjects of his next story. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

A short film by Ryoji Yamada.