Unico: Black Cloud and White Feather

Unico: Black Cloud and White Feather
Strawberry News article about Unico

From the beginning, Sanrio always planned to make an animated feature with Unico. On September 1, 1978, the monthly newspaper, Strawberry News (Ichigo Shinbun), put out by Sanrio, released information on the short film. The short was based on the 7th chapter1 published in Lyrica magazine (issue 20, June 1978) titled “Black Rain and White Flower” (Kuroi Ame to Shiroi Hana).

The short’s title would end up being Unico: Black Cloud and White Feather (Yuniko: Kuroi Kumo to Shiroi Hane).

Unlike the 80s films, Unico: Black Cloud and White Feather was made in-house and with no outside help. Toshio Hirata directed the film while Susumu Aketagawa was the producer, and together they planned the film in a short period. Yukio Abe, who worked on other Sanrio films such as Ringing Bell and Little Jumbo, provided the character designs as Art Director. According to an article in Fantoche, by the time they completed the short, several staff members left Sanrio. This included key animators, background artists, and more. There were also delays because of the tress machines2 used to create the cels. Despite some difficulties, the staff could create a wonderful short.

Like many anime being produced up into the early 2000s, transparent cels and special paint were used to create the animation. Each cel was placed over a background and shot one frame at a time, then edited again according to the storyboard.

Beyond the traditional animation, there were techniques used in this short which were popular during that time. One of these features was the Unico title sequence in the beginning. IwaoYamaki used slit-scan to create the unique title effect. Slit-scan was used in several films and commercials during the 70s, including the 1978 Superman opening sequence, Doctor Who, and more. Computers can create this effect these days, but it’s quite fascinating how it was done previously.

Unico title created by using slit-scan.
Image: Unico title created by using slit-scan.

Besides using slit-scan, they also used a composite of animation and live action for the beginning and ending of the film. This is where you see the realistic background, clouds, and fog. The first film released in 1981 also used both slit-scan and composite techniques. You’ll see the short and first film have similar opening sequences, including the pillar frame, starry background with Unico title and staff, and Unico waking up in a dark and foggy place. The 1981 film went into production soon after the short was completed, which may be why it shares certain elements.

On April 30, 1979, they screened the film and other animations to a group of Tezuka fans that formed the Osamu Tezuka Fan Club. The episode was never released to theaters but was put out on video formats such as LaserDisc and VHS. Later, they added it to DVD and Blu-ray releases.

The Music

Color Spec Sheet

Mickie Yoshino, Yukihide Takekawa, and other members of the Japanese rock band, Godiego arranged and performed the music. Aketagawa had used the band previously for Sanrio’s other animated film, “Metamorphoses(Winds of Change/Hoshi no Orpheus) after the managing director wanted the music replaced to “disco-styled” as it was popular in Japan.3 The songs for the Unico short were originally written in English by Yoko Narahashi and checked by Johnny Nomura, but Akira Ito wrote the Japanese version. Katsumi Kahashi would provide the vocals for the songs.

If you’d like to listen to these songs, the Home Recording Demo Archive Series Vol. 9 Yukihide Takekawa album released in 2013 features a few of the English versions of these songs. They’re also available for music streaming services like Spotify and YouTube Music.

Synopsis:

Chiko and Unico
Image: Chiko and Unico

Similar to the comics, the short film has Unico wandering a polluted city and befriends a rat named Garappachi. The rat brings Unico to meet a young girl, Chiko, who is very sick because of the black rain. Even though she is sick, she tries her best to take care of Unico. Determined to help Chiko, Unico flies Chiko out to cleaner air. The black clouds spread, keeping even Zephyrus from reaching the two. The Black Cloud will not let the West Wind pass, as it’s focused on staying there and watching the people die. When Chiko’s condition worsens, Unico flies to the factory to destroy it. After the clouds disappear, the sun and blue skies return, but Chiko is still ill.

Zephyrus appears before Unico on his way back and tries to take him away once more. When he mentions Chiko will die if he leaves, she gives him a small bouquet of white flowers to give to her. Unico gives the flowers to Chiko and leaves. The flowers heal Chiko, and she searches for Unico, who is then being carried off by Zephyrus.

By the end, we see Unico alone in a dark place, similar to the one we see in the first movie where he meets Akuma-kun (aka Beezle).

Cast
UnicoHiroya Oka
West WindKyoko Kishida
ChikoMinori Matsushima
Black CloudsJunpei Takiguchi
Mouse/Rat/GarappachiKimotsuki Kenta
GrandfatherIchiro Arishima
Staff
Original work/SupervisionOsamu Tezuka
DirectorToshio Hirata
ArtYukio Abe
ProducerSusumu Aketagawa
MusicYukihide Takekawa / Mickie Yoshino
Production CooperationTezuka Productions
Composed and ArrangedYukihide Takekawa / Mickie Yoshino
LyricsAkira Ito
VocalsKatsumi Kahashi
Performed byYoko Narahashi; Godiego, Shin Shitsunai

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Sources:

For more information about Toshio Hirata and Unico: Black Cloud and White Feather, we recommend this article: An Honorary Compendium of Writings on Toshio Hirata (平田敏夫) and His Collaborators – on the ones (wordpress.com)

  1. “Unico no Tanjou!” Ichigo Shinbun (Strawberry News), 1 September 1978, pp. 23
  2. “Unico – Past, Present, Future” Fantoche, February 1979, pp11-13
  3. 【明田川進の「音物語」】第8回 「星のオルフェウス」制作秘話と、ロスで手塚先生のお手伝いをした話 : ニュース – アニメハック (eiga.com)
  4. 1970s|HISTORY|ABOUT TEZUKA OSAMU|TEZUKA OSAMU OFFICIAL
  5. ゴダイゴ – Wikipedia

Footnotes:

  1. 1. The Chapter 7 “Black Rain and White Flowers” (Kuroi Ame to Shiroi Hana) was later renamed to “Black Rain and White Feather” (Kuroi Ame to Shiroi Hane) and rearranged to be Chapter 4 in all other published versions. ↩︎
  2. 2. tress machine: a photocopier similar to Xerox machines, they used “hand-tressing” (hand drawn) to transfer lines and more for animation. Machine tressing was labor-saving. ↩︎
  3. 3. For the Metamorphoses (Winds of Change/Hoshi no Orpheus) animation, Mick Jagger had composed music for the film as well as Joan Baez and The Three Degrees. It was produced in the USA and when it was shown in Japan, that’s when the managing director wanted it changed. ↩︎