March 6, 2026

Azikazin Magic World’s “Shining Portal” Making Part. 1

Azikazin Magic World 《Memory Overdrive》 (2026)

Azikazin Magic World released their first full-length album [Memory Overdrive] on January 28th. The solidly crafted 13-track album delights the ears by freely slicing and combining a diverse range of genres including Drum and Bass (DnB), Jersey Club, Jungle, and Breakcore.

Prior to the album’s release, “Dorephin Shopping Center”, pre-released through their signature content series “Rhythm* Pocket!”; “END!”, unveiled as a new drum and bass performance ‘Crazy DnB!’; and “Shining Portal”, which brings Azikazin’s worldview to life through animation — all further solidify their identity as a media mix creative group. The animation added to every track except “delete” shows just how much effort they poured into this album.

In particular, “Shining Portal,” released as a fully realized animation, delivers a bittersweet and quietly moving experience to both longtime followers of Azikazin’s worldview and newcomers alike. From the Takashi Murakami-esque graphics, to Jujubee transforming like a Digimon evolution, to the game screen formats of the late ’90s and early 2000s, to the refreshing color palette of Frutiger Aero — as you watch their visuals in a daze, a feeling of exhilaration and joy wells up somewhere in the corner of your heart.

“Losing memories to save friends”

‘Memory Overdrive’, which also serves as the album title, refers to the final blow that Jujubee — a small creature from Dorephin Village — deals to the enemy. After using this grandly named technique, Jujubee gains great power, but soon loses a portion of the memories built with friends in ‘Dorephin Village.’ The small creature Jujubee, shouldering this heavy burden while protecting their friends, and the friends who cherish them — TraKids. Their story, unfolding around ‘Dorephin Village,’ is brought to life by the five members of Azikazin Magic World and the creators who collaborate with them.

As mentioned, they are a media mix group. That is why experiencing an Azikazin Magic World album is only truly complete when you follow not just the rhythmic music, but also the music videos, various artworks, and even the worldview spread throughout every corner of their carefully tended website. This interview was conceived with that in mind — to capture the stories of everyone who participated in their expansive worldview.

For today’s content, the Azikazin team takes the wheel as the questioners, with VISLA editor Tontojang riding along in the back seat of the taxi. It feels a bit like the editor’s duties have been handed off to the Azikazin Magic World team — but hey, why not? Anyway, let’s go.

Gathering at the VISLA office, getting ready to head out…

Editorial Team

Hello. This is the on-location Editorial Team of Azikazin Magic World. Today, we sit down with the staff behind Azikazin Magic World’s game-nimation music video “Shining Portal,” released on January 28th to widespread excitement, to hear all about the behind-the-scenes of its production.

For reference, this Making is based on the concept of ‘going directly to the homes of the staff who made the work!’, in collaboration with VISLA editor Tontojang and the Azikazin Magic World on-location Editorial Team — so please keep that in mind as you read.

Editorial Team

First, to find the first clues about how the work came to be, we head to the studio of Jeong Hara, the director of the “Shining Portal” music video.

Jeong Hara: Animation director based in Korea. Directed the game-nimation “Shining Portal,” and is currently directing “Bari Bari Friends,” her own original work series.

Editorial Team

Starting with the most fundamental question for this Making — could you tell us how you first came to know Azikazin Magic World, and how the production of “Shining Portal” began?

Jeong Hara

I first came across the Azikazin Magic World team at the Azikazin Magic World pop-up store held in 2024, where I learned they were a versatile team capable of producing not only music but also 2D animation, games, and 3D work. The team also appreciated my personal work and previous music video direction, and through that connection, we decided to combine our strengths and make a music video together. Since we were doing it anyway, I thought it would be fun to divide the work with some friends of mine — 2D animation creators I’d long admired and respected — and brought them on board. It all came together with the spirit of “What could Hara’s 2D team and Azikazin’s 3D team achieve together?! Let’s do it!!!”

Editorial Team

We understand that you, Director, are also active with your own original worldview through ‘Bari Bari Friends’. You also recently shared a comic called ‘At the Edge of Memory’. But did you find it difficult to work on a music video using another team’s characters and worldview?

Jeong Hara

It was actually easier, in a way. I think directing a 3-minute video without it becoming boring is no simple feat, but because Azikazin’s characters and worldview were so clearly defined, ideas came to me naturally and I spent less time agonizing. When I described the spaces or elements I wanted to feature from a directorial standpoint, the Azikazin team would actively think it through and present visuals that fit their worldview. Art director Lion and 3D artist Sungmoon also provided guidance on the design of the Hole’s patterns, portals, and other background spaces, so I was able to work without getting too lost. I think it let me focus more on the 2D production side of things.

Editorial Team

We’re curious how the planning for the “Shining Portal” music video developed, having started in a study-group format with the Azikazin Magic World team. Could you briefly walk us through the initial concept, early sketches, and that process?

Jeong Hara

The Azikazin team sent over a proposal that gave a clear sense of their intentions. Within that framework, I listened to the music and directed based on whatever came to mind — at the highlight, an image of something spinning freely came to me, and I directed with the goal of capturing that feeling. I set a pinwheel — an object associated with spinning — as the key symbol of the music video, using it to depict Jujubee’s and TraKids’ everyday lives, repeating even as memories are lost. The first idea was shared as a rough storyboard (video board), and we proceeded with minimal revisions from there. Every weekend evening or so, we would share work-in-progress on Discord, hold feedback and Q&A sessions, and gradually refine the initial concept in greater detail.

Editorial Team

At this point, let’s move on and meet the staff members who came together to produce the “Shining Portal” music video, one by one.

Jung Wonhee: Animator based in Korea. Participated in “Shining Portal” as co-director and assistant director.

Editorial Team

Nice to meet you, Jung Wonhee. Could you briefly explain how you came to be involved in “Shining Portal,” and what role you took on in the music video?

Jung Wonhee

Hello! I’m Jung Wonhee, who joined as assistant director on “Shining Portal.” I came on board the Shining Portal study group at Director Hara’s invitation. I’ve always enjoyed incorporating bouncy acting and the exaggerated emotional expressions distinctive of Japanese animation into my work. Director Hara thought this style would suit the bright, everyday atmosphere of TraKids and Jujubee in the early part of the video, and suggested I take on the revision of the early-section direction — and that’s how I came to join as assistant director.

After that, I focused on exchanging ideas with Director Hara to check the flow of transitions, and on organizing and firming up the preparation process before diving into full production. I also assisted the head animator and took part in the animation work.

Editorial Team

As co-director and assistant director, you must have worked on a large volume of material alongside the director throughout the entire production. Is there a particularly memorable episode from working on the project with Director Jeong Hara?

Jung Wonhee

It had been a while since Hara and I worked together since our graduation project. We’d always had a lot in common when making things, and even if I explained something a bit clumsily, there was this strange mutual trust where we’d each just get what the other meant (Director Hara’s most-used phrase in meetings was genuinely: “You know what I mean, right?” / “Try a few things and pick the best one”).

Looking back at it now, notes from a meeting that make absolutely no sense….

Jung Wonhee

At one point we came across a section that was hard to put into words, and Hara said “I can’t explain this verbally” and sent over a video of herself acting out Moa’s performance. Using that as reference, I started animating it — and in the process, ended up filming several acting reference videos of my own for Moa’s performance as well.

It was a short cut, but what sticks with me most is the memory of us exchanging videos of our own faces acting out Moa — all in pursuit of what we’d call between ourselves ‘sexy acting,’ that perfectly timed animation. Behind Moa’s beautiful, sweet expression lies the behind-the-scenes truth of our rather dark(?) facial performances.

Anyway, thanks to that process, I also got my hands on an adorably incriminating(?) video of Hara that I can tease her with — so personally, it was quite an enjoyable piece of work.

(Left: Director Jeong Hara, Right: Assistant Director Jung Wonhee)

Editorial Team

When preparing animation work, even the smallest things can become a source of inspiration. If there are any behind-the-scenes materials you created while working on “Shining Portal,” could you share a few here?

Jung Wonhee

For inspiration, I borrowed a little from the feel of paper. I’m someone who loves the tactile quality of things — the feel of hands, the feel of paper. For an animator, “the feel of paper” might be understood as an appreciation for the particular sensation of animation paper (at least, that’s how I think of it).

The kind of inspiration that comes from the tactile quality of physical objects tends to stay with me for a long time, and I find myself often recalling that sensation when I’m working. For Shining Portal too, I wanted to capture the sensibility of Japanese animation like Digimon or Ojamajo Doremi. So I wanted to weave in the atmosphere of cel animation and layout sketches somewhere in the production process.

The final product would be produced and output digitally, but I thought that even if the paper-feel work wouldn’t actually be used, separately keeping a record of it might let me hold onto that atmosphere throughout the project. In a way, it’s a kind of self-deception. But when you’re pushing through a long animation project, these little self-indulgent acts of fantasy can be quietly empowering.

So there’s also a process where I separately captured a few sections I animated in “Shining Portal” in cel animation style. It was pure personal satisfaction, and I didn’t show it to the team separately… but I’ll take this interview as an opportunity to share a little peek.

Third stop — heading to Kim Minju’s studio!

Editorial Team

Now, let’s move on and talk with more of the staff members who came together for the production of the “Shining Portal” music video.

Kim Minju: Animator based in Korea. Participated in “Shining Portal” as the 2D head animator.

Editorial Team

Nice to meet you, animator Kim Minju. Could you briefly explain how you came to be involved in “Shining Portal,” and what part you took on in the music video?

Kim Minju

Hello! Nice to meet you. I met Director Jeong Hara as colleagues at the same company. We lived in the same direction on the way home, so we chatted often, and at some point said, “I really want to make something great together!” That connection led to an invitation to join this project, and that’s how I came to be part of it. I mainly handled rough character animation and the overall direction of the acting.

Editorial Team

“Shining Portal” features a remarkably large number of characters — from Jujubee to the children of Dorephin Village: Uhkam, Kkamajaya, Pak, Moa, Gata, Toto, and more. As an animator, I imagine you would need to understand each character individually to think through the appropriate acting for them. With so many characters, that process must not have been easy.

Kim Minju

There were indeed many characters, but the number of characters who appear as main figures was limited, so I focused my thinking on those characters and handled the rest by appropriately fitting them to the form the cut required. Since these weren’t characters I built from scratch — they were characters created by the Azikazin side, then interpreted by Director Hara, and my role was to realize that vision — talking things through a lot was the most important thing.

I asked the director a lot of questions, especially when it came to understanding Jujubee — things like, given that this character has the form of a ‘child,’ what age range is actually assumed, whether or not the character is aware of their own situation, and so on. I think I asked about everything from the small details to anything I was curious about.

And since this music video isn’t just a character introduction but carries a story in which these characters experience certain events and react to them, I tried to think more carefully about what each character thinks about Jujubee’s situation and what actions they take.

Editorial Team

The scene near the end of the music video, where Jujubee receives the pinwheel from Kkamajaya, is especially moving. From the bright, wide eyes of Jujubee, to the motion of reaching high up into the sky — it’s a scene that will move any viewer who has followed the music video’s journey from the very beginning, even in a short time. As the final scene, I imagine animator Kim Minju put particular care into it.

Kim Minju

There were a few shots that the director and I flagged as important from early on in our meetings. The final scene was one of them — and precisely because of its importance, it ended up being the last cut we worked on, since we wanted to give it proper time.

To briefly describe the production process: the direction team establishes the character positioning and a broad framework for the movements needed. From there, the director gives direction like “I want to put this in this cut!” After understanding the cut, I proceed with a first rough pass, putting in my own interpretation and ideas, and then check with the direction team to see if it’s alright. After confirming that the directorial intent hasn’t been altered, once I get the okay, I proceed to a second rough pass that brings the movements closer to the character sheets in terms of detail. That was my role in this project — after that, what follows is the tie-down work of adding all the detail from the sheets, and then the cleanup work to produce the final lines.

This scene was one where acting was especially important — it’s the part where the friends hand Jujubee a pinwheel, gently supporting them so that they can rebuild the memories they lost. “Jujubee seeing a pinwheel for the first time,” the “tomboyish personality of Kkamajaya,” and in the end, a touch of sorrow for Jujubee, who has lost their memories — I think I tried to capture all of that.

Many people around me said they loved the scene, but personally it was also a scene I felt a little unsatisfied with. There were so many emotional layers to perform that I wanted to be more delicate about it, but the cut was so long and the deadline was approaching, so I ended up just covering the necessary elements due to time — which leaves a lingering sense of regret. Still, there were people who said it moved them, and in those moments I feel purely happy.

Editorial Team

Is there a character you feel particularly drawn to?

Kim Minju

I animated most of the Kkamajaya cuts, so for some reason Kkamajaya keeps lingering in my head. Because of that hairstyle. Most of the difficult cuts also feature Kkamajaya — and in those cuts, the camera is already spinning, wind is blowing, things are chaotic, and on top of that there’s so much hair to deal with… at first I wasn’t sure what to do. But the more I worked on it, the more I got a feel for it, and with all that movement it became a character I ended up enjoying working on.

And whose studio are we heading to next?

Editorial Team

At this point, let’s move on and talk with more of the staff members who came together for the production of the “Shining Portal” music video.

Azikazin Magic World, “Shining Portal” Making continues in Part. 2.

To be continued…

Editor | Jang Jaehyuk

Special Thanks to Azikazin Magic World

* This interview was published through VISLA Magazine in February 2026.
** Special thanks to VISLA Magazine and Editor tontojang for permission to co-publish this interview on the Azikazin Magic World website.
*** Original interview: ‘Azikazin Magic World’s “Shining Portal” Making Part. 1’ https://visla.kr/feature/339343/