Cherry blossom: A Spring Fantasy is well ahead of its time in terms of its creative fluidity and artistic merit. Unfortunately, the copy I watched was undone by the poor archival process that ruined a lot of visual details and also muddled parts of the background score. The short is a descriptive pathos from the point of view of two metamorphized butterflies who observe the arrival of spring, the flowering of the ubiquitous cherry blossoms and the human custom of hanami, literally picnicking under this gorgeous atmosphere to welcome the coming of spring with a beautiful seasonal sight. The attention to detail here in theart is stunning and by far is my favorite work from this director. It is easy to see the care and love that went into every frame to make each frame stand out like a painting on it's own merit. In some sense this work could even be considered the progenitor of modern day Iyashikei.