Team Bridgestone
For Bridgestone’s Chase Your Dream campaign, created in collaboration with Spoon, I illustrated the personal stories of four para-athletes on their path to the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. Drawing on a contemporary ukiyo-e-inspired visual language, the artwork was used to build four animated and real-time video stories, turning each athlete’s resilience, training and ambition into a moving visual narrative.
Credits: Commissioned by Spoon Tokyo / Director Naomi Izumida / Music - Hidetoku Mukai
STORY
Wheelchair tennis player Manami Tanaka’s story explores her passion for returning to the court after injury, as her frozen spirit catches flame. “Soul in My Ball” references both her love of tennis and her love of onigiri, which she prepares before matches.
STORY
Wheelchair badminton duo Rie Ogura and Kohei Kobayashi share the same sport, but each has a distinct playing style. Rie moves like a falcon — quick, graceful and precise — while Kohei is represented as a hawk, strong, sharp and guided by exceptional vision.
STORY
Paralympic athlete Mami Tani’s story begins with her first experience of feeling the wind, or kaze, while running with her new prosthetic leg. Through two contrasting colour palettes, the film follows her journey from struggle to breakthrough on the road to Tokyo 2020.
STORY
Team Bridgestone athlete “Beam” is a young Thai wheelchair sprinter driven by passion, determination and strength. The warmth of his homeland is reflected through the metal of his wheelchair, reinforcing the power and stability behind his nickname.
