What I did not know until the other day, however, is that Matsumoto worked with Daft Punk. In 2001, the artist and his studio produced all the videos for Daft Punk’s Discovery album. I distinctly remember watching the One More Time video and being blown away. It was fantastic and also fascinating in a strange way, but I couldn’t pinpoint the reason. Now I understand. I didn’t make the connection back then, but Matsumoto’s touch immediately drew me back to my childhood fantasies, themselves sprouting from the artist’s animes.

In 2003, Toei Animation released Interstella 5555, an “animated musical science fiction film” and a visual companion to the Discovery album. It has no dialogue, minimal sound effects, and all (most?) of Discovery’s music. I watched it this morning and loved every moment of it.