21.10.2026
What to Watch? Issue №2
Well, this is the second issue, and it's dedicated to things you've most likely never seen and know nothing about. I'd even go so far as to say you probably couldn't even imagine that such things exist or that someone actually made them. Just think about it.
1) Shurik & Sharik
1) Shurik & Sharik
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“There are no ups without downs. It's a pity sharks can't fly((( It would be cool: a flying shark…” - Zhora
Are you interested in Russian web animation? No? Yes? Either way, let me present Shurik and his dog Sharik. Plus, there's Zhora - a business shark, and Platon - well, Platon.
The main highlight of the project is that it's one huge, juicy shitpost telling surprisingly cozy and atmospheric little stories. "Shurik & Sharik" isn't the kind of work that forces you to overanalyze and dig deep to uncover the hidden meaning while explaining everything through memes and absurdity - and in its own way, that's pure genius.
Shurik & Sharik is very similar to Smiling Friends, but with discussions and conflicts relevant to people from the post-Soviet space, where stories are built around Friendship, Love, and Family. While in Smiling Friends we see a workplace setting with friends as coworkers, in Shurik & Sharik the main characters are friends and neighbors. By the way, the creators themselves mentioned drawing inspiration from Smiling Friends.
The main highlight of the project is that it's one huge, juicy shitpost telling surprisingly cozy and atmospheric little stories. "Shurik & Sharik" isn't the kind of work that forces you to overanalyze and dig deep to uncover the hidden meaning while explaining everything through memes and absurdity - and in its own way, that's pure genius.
Shurik & Sharik is very similar to Smiling Friends, but with discussions and conflicts relevant to people from the post-Soviet space, where stories are built around Friendship, Love, and Family. While in Smiling Friends we see a workplace setting with friends as coworkers, in Shurik & Sharik the main characters are friends and neighbors. By the way, the creators themselves mentioned drawing inspiration from Smiling Friends.
2) Everyday is Sunday (Mainichi ga Nichiyōbi)
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A completely forgotten 6-episode OVA from the early 1990s. Overall, it's a simple romantic story about 22-year-old police officer Yumi Takeshita and pickpocket magician Toru Ichidaiji. She also has a wild partner - 19-year-old Shiho Ninomiya, who hasn't been fired from the police force only because her grandfather happens to be the police chief of the Tawagoto precinct, where the events take place.
It's definitely worth watching for the 90s aesthetic, Ninomi's antics, and if you enjoy romance.
3) Sinking Road
It's definitely worth watching for the 90s aesthetic, Ninomi's antics, and if you enjoy romance.
3) Sinking Road
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While we're waiting for Vivziepop to give us any deeper exploration of her ideas - and right now, after season 2 ended, we still don't have a fully accurate understanding of many rules in her universe - Moa Olsson spent 6 years creating a complete 52-minute and 20-second story that needs no additions whatsoever.
The story itself tells about Dotty Duette, who was pushed into the sea and carried away to an underwater village, as I understood it, called "Sinking Road". There, she encounters the 8 Buddhist precepts. Throughout the plot, she tries to escape. I don't know how useful this detail is, but one side of her face is paralyzed.
The project stands out for its unique style, which to me looks like a mix of classical 20th-century animation, flash animation, and hyperpop. I think I don't have much else to add.
The story itself tells about Dotty Duette, who was pushed into the sea and carried away to an underwater village, as I understood it, called "Sinking Road". There, she encounters the 8 Buddhist precepts. Throughout the plot, she tries to escape. I don't know how useful this detail is, but one side of her face is paralyzed.
The project stands out for its unique style, which to me looks like a mix of classical 20th-century animation, flash animation, and hyperpop. I think I don't have much else to add.
4) TYAP-LYAP
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“Do you remember your first drawing, craft, application, or just a homemade thing? Most likely, as a child, you proudly showed them to adults, who put your next creation on a shelf and praised you. But after all, a piece of soul, a fragment of your creative star was invested in each craft. And that means that just like you, your creation is alive. Just imagine a place where a dozen such worlds are collected with their own nature, residents, and so on. All this is our native children's stand!”
Basically, that's everything I managed to get out of TYAP-LYAP. I also gathered that the main characters - residents of one of the crafts - got bored and decided to go on a trip across other crafts. The catch is that leaving their craft without the princess's permission is strictly forbidden. Naturally, they didn't ask for permission and set off on their journey anyway. Understanding the plot in more detail is pretty tough, since the voice acting for some characters was recorded on a brick phone straight out of the 2000s, which your dorm roommate washed in the laundry together with his jeans.
That said, TYAP-LYAP shows off a pretty interesting style, and pretty much everything revolves around the "half-assed" approach. It's worth a watch simply because it exists and it completely melts your brain.
That said, TYAP-LYAP shows off a pretty interesting style, and pretty much everything revolves around the "half-assed" approach. It's worth a watch simply because it exists and it completely melts your brain.
That was the second issue of "What to Watch?" If I didn't manage to surprise you, then I guess I did a poor job collecting material... Because the whole point of this issue was to surprise you, since we're no longer talking about something like ENA or regular anime, but about the niche of the niche.
Then again, Shurik & Sharik isn't really a niche - it's mainstream Russian web animation, though for a Western audience it's definitely a niche. And Sinking Road is mostly a niche for the post-Soviet viewer. But overall, this collection ended up being made of little-known projects, so I had to dig way deeper than usual for information on each one.
That's all for now.
Then again, Shurik & Sharik isn't really a niche - it's mainstream Russian web animation, though for a Western audience it's definitely a niche. And Sinking Road is mostly a niche for the post-Soviet viewer. But overall, this collection ended up being made of little-known projects, so I had to dig way deeper than usual for information on each one.
That's all for now.
