Katsudō Shashin HD Restoration // Matsumoto Fragment 活動写真 1907-1911

Restoration of Katsudo Shashin (“moving picture“), also called the Matsumoto fragment, named after its discoverer. This short loop is often heralded as the first anime. It’s speculated to have been created between 1907 and 1911. As with so many firsts, its right to bear that title is of course disputed. Whether it is or isn’t the first anime largely depends upon how you define anime. The animation of the Matsumoto fragment is quite short, more resembling the earlier animation of zootropes and other early animation devices not generally held to be cartoons or anime. These facts lead many to place the first anime much later, sometimes with the release of Namakura Gatana in 1917 and often as late as Astroboy manga adaption in 1963. Regardless, its very old and quite cute. This “restoration“ is an attempt to clean up the only version readily available, at least on YouTube. The source I worked from is a poor 240p video. I’m not an expert at restoring and the quality of the so