About two years ago, two first-time cinematographers began a trip around Japan in search of real-world inspirations behind some of the most beloved video games and anime of all time. Their third and most recent documentary explores the origins and cultural touchstones of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and the direct overlap and softer parallels between the game and its home country really are something to see.
Frank Milham and partner James Dawson, of YouTube channel Midnight Kotatsu, have spent three or four years in Japan between university work and various odd jobs like sales or, the foreigner classic, teaching English. They tell me they're perfectionistic. Neither had really worked in film before – though they did see some broadcast work during the Tokyo Olympics, and their humanities backgrounds in philosophy and history have helped shape their video style – which is largely why it's taken several years for them to get three documentaries out the door. A fourth, exploring Nier: Automata, is already in the works.
