is a Japanese

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

OVA , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and special episodes of a series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the ...

produced by

Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio based in Koganei, Tokyo."Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment". ''Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment''. Retrieved 2020-12-14. It has a strong presence in the animation industry and has exp ...

. It was released in Japan by

Buena Vista Home Entertainment Buena ( ) is a borough in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The borough, and all of Atlantic County, is part of South Jersey and the Atlantic City- Hammonton metropolitan statistical area, which in turn is included in the Ph ...

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

and

Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...

on July 4, 2007, as part of the "Ghibli ga Ippai Collection SPECIAL" label. It is

directed Direct may refer to: Mathematics * Directed set, in order theory * Direct limit of (pre), sheaves * Direct sum of modules, a construction in abstract algebra which combines several vector spaces Computing * Direct access (disambiguation), a ...

Naohisa Inoue is a fantasy artist influenced by both the Surrealism and Impressionism movements. Most of his paintings are set in the fantastical land of . He created reference and background art for the Studio Ghibli film '' Whisper of the Heart'' and also p ...

. The story is set in the

imaginary world A fictional universe, also known as an imagined universe or a constructed universe, is the internally consistent fictional setting used in a narrative or a work of art. This concept is most commonly associated with works of fantasy and scienc ...

of Iblard, originally depicted in paintings by Inoue. The paintings of Iblard also inspired the fantasy sequences of Ghibli's ''

Whisper of the Heart is a 1995 Japanese animated coming-of-age romantic drama film directed by Yoshifumi Kondō and written by Hayao Miyazaki based on Aoi Hiiragi's 1989 manga ''Mimi o Sumaseba''. Produced by Studio Ghibli and distributed by Toho, the film stars ...

''.

Production

The OVA is 30 minutes long and consists primarily of Inoue's fantasy paintings of the Iblard world. Studio Ghibli digitally animated portions of the paintings and integrated original elements into the scenery. There are eight separate segments, each featuring a different painting or landscape and instrumental musical piece. The OVA focuses mostly on static shots of "moving" scenery: Inoue's paintings are digitally altered so that grass moves in the wind, people walk, etc. There is no dialogue.

Music

The

original soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured ...

for the OVA was composed by Kiyonori Matsuo. The release of ''Iblard Jikan'' includes a bonus soundtrack CD with eight tracks performed by Matsuo.

Critical reception

Chris Beveridge of ''Anime on DVD'' noted that the OVA is quite calming and relaxing, and provides a great showcase of Ghibli "eye candy", but its appeal would likely be restricted to those seeking to complete their collection of Ghibli pieces due to its focus on "looking through the window" rather than telling an overarching story.

References

External links

Official websiteThe World of Iblard
(Naohisa Inoue's official website) * * {{Studio Ghibli Films 2007 anime OVAs Fantasy anime and manga Studio Ghibli animated films