Train Ride

A short animated music video by American animator and music producer James Bowman, also known professionally as AnimHeru.

Dancing and romance is occurring inside an underground train.

In order to avoid any confusion, it would be best to concentrate on the physical appearance of the characters first. Generally, they resemble human figures as they have arms, legs, a torso and a head. Another thing that indicates that they are actually people is the environment, which looks...well, human. What makes them look...unnatural is the fact that they are very slender with extremely thin limbs and a long neck, resembling aliens from another planet.

So, there is a narrative here and the video begins at an underground train station, where a figure described above, whose body is all blue, enters a train and takes a seat. Nearby, in the same coach, is another character, this one all purple. The purple one notices the blue one and approaches. The purple one encourages the blue one to stand up and the two of them embrace and proceed to dance. That is when their surroundings transform from the interior of a train to the interior of a nightclub dance floor.

There is no speech at all in this four-minute-long video, with music and visuals doing all the talking and they have a lot to say.

Looking at the visual elements, the computer animation looks super, making effective use of colours, particularly during the dance sequence, which takes up approximately 90% of the video's duration. While the two characters are dancing, their surroundings consists of nothing but one colour that keeps changing, like the lights on a dancefloor. The dance itself is romantic, with slow motion.

Focusing on the score now, it could be described as house music, generating feelings of romance, while also being relaxing at the same time.

Another thing about the characters. Apart from their colour, they look exactly the same, with no facial features or any kind of details to differentiate them from each other. Is the blue one the male and the purple one the female? Or it is vice versa? Are they both the same sex? Does it matter?

Ostensibly, the two characters meet by chance and it is therefore suggested that this is a love-at-first-sight story where the most amazing things can happen in the most unexpected places. Taking the ending under consideration, this video seems to be promoting the message that people should make the most of everything that comes their way and enjoy it while it lasts.

Beautiful colours and good music. A chance encounter in an underground train that leads to dancing and romance. A story that moves from reality to fantasy, resulting in a viewing that is a joy to experience.