"World's 1st 4K anime short" debuted in 2017

AbemaTV will begin its exclusive advance streaming of director HIroyuki Yamaga (The Wings of Honneamise, Mahoromatic - Automatic Maiden) and character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto's (Neon Genesis Evangelion, FLCL) "Suna no Akari" ("Lights of Sand") 4K anime short on January 18 at 1:00 a.m. The five-minute "world's first 4K anime short" will stream in standard definition through AbemaTV, and it will be available through the service for six days after its debut.

The short's story centers on a boy who finds something shining in a gloomy desert. It gives him a power of light. Guided by the light, the boy is drawn into the connection between the girl he meets and a new world.

Shōichi Yajima served as executive producer for the short, and Hiroaki Takeuchi (The Animatrix, Showa Monogatari) was the producer. The short utilized a new type of production system with blockchain crowdfunding.

The short premiered at the Content Tokyo event in June 2017, and then screened at the Dai-13-kai Iida no Machi Festival Kōyasai event on November 3, 2019. The anime's main staff attended C3AFA Singapore on November 30 to screen the short in collaboration with Singapore-based blockchain company BlockPunk.

Sources: AbemaTV, The Mainichi Shimbun's Mantan Web, Comic Natalie, C3AFA Singapore's website