From the visionary animator Masaki Okuda who directed ONAs such as Count Down, Idea ga Tsukamamaranai and the unfinished project OO1, comes an ONA that’s the shortest he can ever make called “Petting a Dog.” This brilliant MS Paint animation may only be 16 seconds long but it’s definitely the sweet 16 seconds of your life!
The story is simple. It didn’t try to make it complex. No added themes or imagery or motifs. Just a simple message of "loving thy animal" is portrayed throughout this ONA. You would think from the looks of it there is one main character in the show but the second character’s appearance what really takes it to the next level. You feel so connected with the emotion that not only do you sympathize with the dog, you start empathizing with it. That’s pretty big. Not a lot of directors know how to do that…yet.
The art and the sound are in perfectly in sync with the animation style. Okuda really wanted to invoke the traditional MS Paint animation style most animators started off with. This nostalgic feeling paired with the action of petting a dog really hits you home with the coziness one feels experiencing this ONA brilliance!
Overall, it will be a crime to not watch this ONA (unless you are allergic to dogs). I can guarantee this ONA has a huge replayability factor to further boost this already boosted ONA. You will surely watch it over and over again as you try to grasp the message behind this ONA savouring the sweet 16 feeling you once felt during your 16th birthday.
I hope you found this review as helpful as finding a red dog and petting it!
