Takashi Ohashi Explores Time And Memory In ‘Wildest Flower’ Music Video

Takashi Ohashi, a longtime favorite at Cartoon Brew, is back with the animated music video for “Wildest Flower,” a track from the Japanese social game Gakuen iDOLM@STER, also directed by Ohashi.

According to the filmmaker, his video draws on the legacy of Étienne-Jules Marey’s chronophotography, constructing a layered temporal experience in which motion is fragmented, echoed, and reassembled into something that is equal parts emotionally resonant and pulpy.

Rather than using animation purely as illustration, the piece treats movement like memory. Aside from the obvious use of a stopwatch, repeated poses and trailing forms suggest the passage of time and the persistence of identity within it. The video’s protagonist appears suspended between the past and the future, with her gestures pulled backward even as the music drives the song forward.

Even for viewers unfamiliar with the source material or unable to understand its lyrics, “Wildest Flower” offers a compelling visual meditation on time, memory, and identity.