TELL (Tokyo English Lifeline) is a vital organisation providing mental health support, counselling and crisis services to people across Japan. Over the years, we’ve been honoured to occasionally work alongside their team, including documenting their annual Tokyo Tower Climb, an event that has become a powerful symbol of community, resilience and athleticism!.

‍

This time, TELL approached us to collaborate on a new initiative: a series of films featuring their Mental Health Champions. As TELL describes it, the series highlights people with lived experience of mental health challenges who are willing to speak openly, challenge stigma in Japan, and offer encouragement to others who may be struggling.

‍

The films feature Juri Watanabe, Diamond Yukai (a musician perhaps best known outside of Japan for his role as the Director in Lost in Translation) and Kenzo Tanaka, each sharing their personal experiences, the challenges they’ve faced, and why they now choose to support others. Their openness and generosity sit at the heart of the project.

‍

Given the sensitivity of the subject matter, including mental health struggles and, at times, suicide, we spent considerable time discussing how best to approach the storytelling. Our goal was to create work that could genuinely help viewers, not overwhelm or distance them. We chose not to rely on stock footage, which can feel generic and emotionally detached, but at the same time we were working with intentionally limited live-action material: intimate interviews, two of which were filmed in our office.

‍

With the project generously supported by Lifeline International, but full animation beyond reach, we developed a hybrid approach. Interviews are paired with expressive, carefully designed animation and graphics that support the stories being told, adding clarity, warmth and visual engagement while keeping the focus on the people and their words.

‍

We were fortunate to work with three remarkable Mental Health Champions whose stories resonated deeply with our own team. Like most people, we’ve either faced mental health challenges ourselves or supported someone who has.

‍

We’re grateful to TELL for their trust, to Lifeline International for their support, and above all to Juri, Diamond and Kenzo for their central part in this series.