AKI | Wanci Hua | CalArts 2022

Aki, a clumsy little chef, must make a delicious meal for the emperor's banquet. When things don't go as planned, he turns to his friends for support.
My BFA3 film at Calarts!
Thanks to all my friends who helped along the long long way.
SOUND
Music: Jason Fujita
Sound Design: Shane Vincent
Re-recording Mix: Daniel Eaton
Singer: Jenny Fujita
VOICE
Aki: Lyric Wayne Bowman
Bo: Joe Zhang
Muni: Thomas Mugglestone
Ayamaru: Michelle Tang
Takeshi: Ghastly Dipper
Yuuda: Joy Ofudu
Directed by Wanci Hua
contact: [e-mail]
website: wancihua.mypor...
instagram @wanciandpeas
Watch other films made by my classmates: • 2022 CalArts Character...

[@LA_Studios_since2012]

What a beautiful film! The story, the look, the acting, voice and sound, it takes you in a world of kindness.

[@kaleeatssalad]

A lovely film! It's so wholesome, and I wish it could be up for even longer, but I absolutely love the message and EVERYTHING about it! An amazing job.

[@pinkiepurplez]

As many would say, underrated. But in this case, it's more unnoticed. I hope this wholesome animation gets some traffic because I think we could all use a little Aki in our day. Keep up the good work "wancii" and great job on this short film! Ciao.

[@GaijinGoombah]

This was a good way to start the day.

[@Josuh]

well well well hello there mr goombah

[@thebusinessmn1114]

I would pay for a movie version of this. This is awesome from the art style, the voice acting, world design and subtle little hints about how this world's religion and culture works. It even made me laugh when Aki awkwardly scurried off with his ramen.

[@kails_creates]

Oh my…this film is GORGEOUS! I am seriously getting Ghibli vibes. Absolutely stunning work!!

[@staceymeredith115]

im getting ghibli vibes too!

[@isabellaraandaya3491]

Same! The Ghibli Vibes are radiating.

[@Aurora_Animates]

AGREED

[@anapple6912]

Yeah lol how they keep making food and serving it

[@isabellaraandaya3491]

@@anapple6912 It’s kind of like Spirited away, except EVERYONE are frogs.

[@bunnif992]

This reminds me of how I view myself as an artist. I always constantly make my art that I am unsatisfied with, and I get frustrated and sad. No matter how much I tried I couldn’t get it the way I wanted it to be. It took a while, but the thing that helped me the most was patience and persistence.

[@wancii7926]

Hello! Thank you for stopping by, and thank you for all the love and comments! It means a lot to me that I'm able to share this film with you. This film will be set to private in a few days. Hope to see you again soon

[@Danny_Dirt]

Aww, really? I mean if you have to private it for personal reasons involving school, then I understand. But its gonna be sad seeing this great short gone. Hopefully it doesn't go away forever. Good luck on your future work!

[@shho143]

Thank you so much for making this film. The message has been received.

[@olakpasa6486]

Such a great film, the message is adorable, the art style is amazing and the voice acting is impecable, I do hope this blows up in the algorithm, more people needs to see this!

[@hopeonthestreet3660]

such a cute film!!! I loved seeing it at the character animation showcase and I’ve been anticipating to see it again on KZbin. Amazing work :)

[@mary_animatez]

I am disappointed on HOW UNDERRATED THIS is. THIS GEM NEEDS TO BE SEEN. The most adorable show that deserved to shown. I legit would pay to watch this.

[@Laserkitten]

What a hidden gem of an animation, I think it really deserves more attention, hopefully the algorithm does its thing

[@staceymeredith115]

can't lie, there is so much great ghibli vibes from this film!

[@lavnrder]

this has such genuine and loving vibes. I can tell this project meant a lot to you and god does it show! so well put together and so visually stunning :)

[@pho6149]

This is soo touching! I wanted to cry at the end from how heartwarming, sweet and kindly it was) I think, many need Bon's words. And I like that the message is perfectly conveyed in just 4 minutes, and at the same time there is nothing superfluous. Although I would really enjoy a longer animation by the same creators, cause this storytelling, voice acting, music, plot, the art style and the characters and environment design, the point - everything is so good!! Btw Aki is such a cutie

[@Maria-xy2vs]

Maybe they are kois and catfishes at the same time, but I think artists were referencing catfishes more. Also, I like your point about Bon. I would be more happy to share things you dedicated a lot of time to with the best friend too. By the way, I don't know if they are having a competition, I thought it was like a royal dinner or something. But design of this big purple royal catfish is hilarious and represents his mindset

[@pho6149]

@@Maria-xy2vs Даа, император угарыш, с этой палкой на голове)) про кои хорошее предположение, вполне может быть, тоже ведь усатики :) насчёт судей, в начале вроде объявили, что сейчас судьи будут выбирать лучшее блюдо, хотя я тоже сначала подумала, что это просто банкет или фиолетовый все сожрет)

[@wancii7926]

Thank you so much for such sweet comments! It really made my day :) As for your question, yes, catfish is definitely part of their ancestry.

[@pho6149]

@@wancii7926 oooh)) thanks for the explanation! I really glad that I cheered you up :) Good luck, you are amazing!!!💔

[@BudderChezMC]

THAT WAS SO CUTE 😭 oh my goodness it was adorable and very calming! loved it

[@hellomynameis________]

I love this so much. The fact that the whole story is about Aki failing, and gaining the perseverance to try again is just so wonderful, and was a message I really needed to hear, and that I think a lot of people need to hear too. Thank you for making this.

[@stinkykaiser.9061]

I’m crying, THIS IS ADORABLE. ITS SO HEARTWARMING TOO AAA

[@sabakan-umai]

日本をイメージしてくれてありがとうございます。 可愛らしくて美しくて温かくて優しい、素敵なアニメでした！

[@Part_Time_Fox]

This is a phenomenal work of art in every way! The art direction, details in animation and overall warmth in the Story all culminates into quite the masterpiece! I really hope to see more from you someday!

[@lynniewood]

The movement, the characters, the colors, the ATMOSPHERE, ugh its all just so wonderful! I love that you showed so much of the world in such a short amount of time, it feels like i got to see a little window into another world

[@ninjapanda393]

Thanks for bringing this back, it deserves so much attention! It's a very comforting film for me too.

[@quillequill4092]

This is my new favourite animation!!! The story, the character design, the vibe, the colours, the world building, the pacing, the music, all sooo charming and adorable 🥺🥺🥺

[@burnt236]

Every single shot of this makes me SO HAPPY AND FEELS ME WITH EMOTIONS. EVERYTHING, THE VOICE, THE DESIGN AND THE MUSIC ARE SO EFFECTIVE!

[@LySaoo]

I really love It ! 😄 It really gives the Ponyo vibes ~

[@kabonkaru]

What a lovely film. Artstyle, VAing, Sound engineering and story are well made. I can absolutely say that this is cinema worthy. I assume everyone would like to pay for this gift. God job everyone who put there hard work on this piece.

[@Thomas-ex8un]

Reminds me of a short film named dodoba on yt

[@jeremiahsmith916]

This was a pleasure to watch, and brought a lot of emotions. Thank you for sharing your work with us. ^^

[@Maria-xy2vs]

This short film is more heartwarming than every heartwarming moment of my life put together ❤️❤️❤️

[@ariannasv22]

That's so cute, I giggled when the seaweed flopped over, but that's when you know it's soaked with soup, damn I'm hungry now

[@yamforayam4709]

watching film projects always inspires me to keep doing my things, I'm more of a writer, but I always use things like these to get my gears going, animation is amazing because you can make it so atmospheric, if that makes sense.

[@Emmamation]

It's absolutely amazing, the colours the voice acting everything ❤

[@seregloth]

This was so cute and wholesome, I'd love to see more of these characters and the world you created for them.

[@Scrofar]

I'm not crying, I just got ramen broth in my eyes

[@elielc.8459]

I keep coming back to this every once in a while. Very emotionally moving, with cute animation, a beautiful soundtrack and wonderful vocal performances. Thanks for unlisting.

[@JoyOfodu]

I am so honored to be an actor on this project and see the reactions!

[@Shinheng_thepug]

Such a cute film 🥺🥺❤️

[@caseyblack7506]

Very Cute. Also, can the others not see the big spirit or is it just normal to them?

[@borisbinkleton5408]

I am so lucky to have found this video before it got unlisted, 10/10 would recomend.

[@ACLCproductions]

Lovely film!

[@thananadeem5283]

Aww, I absolutely love this animation style! This was so good!

[@animegod.-.2919]

This is absolutely amazing the animation is amazing I hope this gets picked up and get made to a show

[@fritznetic4344]

This is beautiful and deserves so much more attention!

[@BostonTerrierLOVE]

Help this is so sweet! What a visual treat throughout. I love all the round shapes, the little physical gestures, the message and sense of community. Wonderful!!!!

[@corporalradio6514]

I'm so glad i clicked on this. Simply beautiful

[@ChalkyWaters]

The art style, backrounds, characters and voice acting are all so cute and amazing!

[@regi5436]

this is astonishingly underrated. so much effort went into this and it feels like the algorithm just passes by this masterpiece.

[@fuyu_shi]

This short could not be more perfect than it already is. The way Aki is written really brings out their personality. The charming art coupled with the whimsical music really makes the atmosphere bloom. Amazing work, would love to see more!! 💕💖

[@pal_mac_]

AAHHH SO PRETTY THIS IS SO UNDERRATED I LOVE AKI'S CUTE LITTLE VOICE AND HIS LITTLE EYES

[@datoneguy3135]

yknow what, imma be honest i totally expected this to be a "don't judge a book by its cover" story but jesus christ this was adorable!

[@Aurora_Animates]

BROOO THIS IS SICKKK PLEASE , YOU DONT EVEN HAVE 1K SUBS IMA CRY

[@novaduck_iv]

God this needs to be a full movie! So beautiful 💕

[@SonyaBowman]

I love this! Great job Wanci!

[@wancii7926]

Thank you, Sonya! This film would not exist without your support!

[@Senddroods529]

Absolutely precious! Can’t wait to see more of this beautiful work!

[@mayor.whiskers3]

This animation is so adorable I'm surprised it doesn't have more attention:)

[@Danny_Dirt]

Randomly got this gem in my recommendations last night, amazing work! Here's hoping the algorithm keeps working miracles so this gets the attention it deserves.

[@katiemcguinness662]

This was just so precious, oh my gosh. And I wasn't expecting the conversation either, it really added a new level of depth to this story and I'd love to watch more adventures of this sweet little chef. All around incredible work!

[@Rori-]

my favorite thing was all the characters' voices 💕

[@Golden1064]

What a brilliant short film, the world is colorful and whimsical, but grounded in a sense of realism, the animation flows so smoothly like the image knew what it wanted before ever becoming real. And the story is relatable and touching. Good stuff

[@mintyfresh2357]

This is absolutely beautiful and so so sweet. I hope this video gets more attention because it absolutely deserves it.

[@hiiamaweirdkid7052]

This actually made me wanna cry so badly this is so adorable

[@okester3260]

THIS IS SO GOOD!!! I seriously almost cried when Aki started talking about never getting it right. Amazing colors, animation and art style as well as a touching message, i really hope more people get to see this!!

[@takingitonedayatatime7851]

Aki reminds me of Gumball. Love them both. ☺️

[@demiokulaja7787]

this was such a cute short!! it could easily be stretched out into a series and i would watch every apisode. its really soothing and i love aki's mom waving her individual tiny fins😆

[@DjayT.]

This has some hard Ghibli vibes and I love it

[@phoboss950]

This Amphibia 2 preview really looks good. Can't wait

[@aki7066]

絵が可愛くて、歌が優しくて癒されました。美味しそうでお腹が空いたよ😊

[@kate7711]

ahhhhh this is the cutest animation i have ever seen ( believe me when i say i squirmed with joy when i saw the little characters ) i wanna pinch their chubby cheeks

[@marcelinepink]

Wow, I feel huge Ghibli vibes from this. Amazing and sweet!! :)

[@felixmcculloh8172]

Simply lovely

[@IsaaMation]

Netflix better not touch this. This is so Beautiful...

[@priyamalelu3643]

this is one of the best short animations ive ever seen. if not the best

[@pheebs887]

Aaah it's so cute!! Its like Ponyo but waaay more adorable

[@jpegcrust]

I LOOOOVE THESE CHARACTERS THEY MAKE ME SO HAPPY

[@uisce_]

Excuse me?! This person makes this absolutely phenomenal piece of animation and has only 200 subscribers???

[@worthlessprotoplasam]

THIS IS THE CUTEST THING I'VE EVER SEEN **chef kiss**

[@samisthegreatest6682]

THIS IS AMAZING! the artstyle is gorgeous and the voice acting is really good!

[@tl1326]

sometimes, it’s not about the appearance it;s about the taste

[@emmanicide7746]

Honestly this got me reminiscing about my childhood. Very good animation, reminds me of studio ghibli

[@_SOLID_]

Damn, I legit cried when aki cried, powerful stuff

[@mushroomlena]

Oh my goodness I have so much love for this film. And I didn’t expect to relate so much to a lil fish (??) chef today. Gorgeous film and story! And the Ghibli vibes are so comforting. 🥺

[@Barrakdraws]

I’m really glad i found this... i’m really glad i found you this is so beautiful!!

[@DrBidoofenshmirtz]

Damn, that was awesome. I’d watch a whole movie. Hell, a whole series

[@LL-fw7hi]

Very cute, very wholesome, entirely beautiful.

[@leticiamoreira5539]

THIS IS UNDERATEED THIS VIDEO DESERVES MORE ATTENCION AND LOVE

[@claudiabloom9315]

So gorgeous!! This is about to hit the KZbin algorithm I can feel it.

[@bread_is_my_life]

Lol I got a bit scared when I saw video named Aki like my nickname haha That was a really good animation! I like the vibes it gaves!

[@Peter32tjrksor]

Styles is reminiscent of dodoba, another calarts shot. Fantastic job

[@vash..]

This looks incredible and the message is so wholesome and heartfelt! I hope this gains a lot of traction soon and I wish it the best💖

[@polarbearsquad8122]

What a great first video for KZbin. Your going places.

[@crownedoll]

This is so cute! I also love the little song in the end.

[@Inculturapedia]

Charming and beautiful, music and audio design were also spot on.

[@cgillis3989]

Wow, hard to believe this came out way back in 2022

[@lasagnagoob5947]

If this was a movie I would watch it non stop bc of the little cute details iam probs gonna use one of the scenes as a background on my phone

[@sleepybraincells]

This needs at least a million views

[@dafuori584]

Идеально, просто шикарно выполненная работа, а главное поучительная!

[@72631]

this is so sweet and beautiful!! I'm literally crying :') I hope you keep making amazing art!!!

[@vonyoki2679]

Ahhh adorable, ty for making this AHH

[@seekittycat]

😭 I needed this thank you ❤️❤️