One of the most interesting things that I’ve come across in Shinbou/Shaft‘s recent work is the c-part of ZSZS #8 which was created by the independent team “Gekidan Inu Curry” (or alternatively Theatrical Company Dog Curry) consisting of the former Gainax animator Ayumi Shiraishi and Tanto Do-GA Studio member Yousuke Anai, but they normally go with their pen names “2shiroinu” [2白犬] and “Doroinu” [泥犬]. They are oriented towards Russian and Czech animation and thus usually focus on art films, but sometimes they also work on commercial productions, for the most part on shows directed by Shinbou who justifies the unusual art style of their work. Apart from some minor work on Bakemonogatari they are also responsible for the ending animation of Maria Holic:
In the case of ZSZS #8 they used a cut-out style animation combined with some pencil strokes, traditional 2D animation and digital effects, which makes for a very refreshing result for Japanese TV animation. It’s thanks to Shinbou that also more unconventional artists get the opportunity to expose their work to a larger audience. I get the feeling that he uses the SZS franchise meanwhile as a vessel for more bold and experimental work, though the other parts of season 3 I’ve seen (which isn’t much) aren’t that interesting. Actually I dropped the franchise after season 1 since the jokes and visual approach felt boring and reused after a while, but the kind of work shown in ZSZS #8 makes me curious again, so maybe I’ll check out some more of it someday.
But coming back to “Gekidan Inu Curry“, I’ve still to mention the work which introduced me to this two-artist-team, namely the animated promotion video for Maaya Sakamoto‘s song “Universe“, a stunning piece of animation which was created in cooperation with Production I.G. I really like the fancifully designed world, the nicely choreographed movements and the flow of the imaginative visuals with the music, every single image is really well corresponding to the beautiful song.
Ani no Miyako 
Wow, that “Universe” video was amazing! I immediately Favorited it LOL Wish I knew what the words were though. In any case it was awesome. In it I could see the influnces these artists utilize to this day in the Zan Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei episode you clipped above.
As for that segment: it’s really atypical of what’s gone before, and the reason why it is so prominent; such a contrast to the already cutting edge Shaft work, yet so complimentary with it. I was totally awed when this segment played on my monitor! Brilliant, really.
I may be mistaken but I *think* that Shinbou used them before in SZS, but whether from a previous season or OVA I can’t recall. I’ve seen everything I could of this show; it’s not so much the Message but the Experience for me 😀
I have to thank you for your insights into the artisans behind the craftwork; otherwise I’d have no clue going just by the credits that are translated. So please keep up the great work! I love information like this, being a long-time credits-fan of movies and music. I want to know more about the creators of anime and the behind the scenes looks, which I find fascinating.
And a big Thank-You for contributing these facts to my Blog, which is so much better for your well-informed comments 🙂
Yeah, that “Universe” video is indeed great, have watched it countless time but it still holds the same magic.
Gekidan Inu Curry worked also on the openings of the “Goku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei” OVA, so that’s probably what you mean 🙂