The Chibi Project
| The Chibi Project | |
| |
| The Chibi Project cover art | |
| Hosted by | Patrick Delahanty and Jekka Cormier |
| No. of episodes | 40+ as of January 1, 2016 |
| Runtime | varies greatly |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Patrick Delahanty |
| Camera Operator(s) | Various |
| Editor(s) | Patrick Delahanty |
| Broadcast | |
| Distributor | Adequate.com |
| Original Run | October 20, 2006 - March 2016 |
The Chibi Project is a web site that was created in 1999 to document the ongoing process of attempts to destroy a small Chibi Moon figure.
Web Site
In December 1998, Patrick Delahanty was given a PVC plastic Chibi Moon figure by a friend who had received it as part of a set of Sailor Moon characters. She didn't want Chibi Moon, so she gave it to him with the instructions, "Do whatever you want to it. Stomp on it if you want to." She then proceeded to bring her boot's heel down on Chibi Moon's face. Nothing happened. Patrick vowed to finish the job.
The following February, Patrick brought Chibi Moon out to nearby commuter rail tracks just before a train was scheduled to arrive. Shortly after snapping a "before" photo, the train arrived. After it left the station, Chibi Moon was found to be mostly unharmed. She had suffered only minor scrapes. The results were posted on a small web site and The Chibi Project was born.
By late 2002, after many other experiments, it became apparent that Chibi Moon wouldn't hold up to much more testing. She was now in multiple pieces and her face was gone. It was time to move on to other anime toys. With these "side projects", The Chibi Project would not need to worry about what was left in the end and could go to extremes. The first test was conducted on Burning Gundam because, honestly, he was just asking for it with a name like that!
Live Experiments
Starting at Anime Boston 2003, The Chibi Project started doing live convention appearances featuring video footage from past experiments and occasionally a live experiment. Other conventions have since invited The Chibi Project to appear and run a panel, exposing yet more people to the wonders of The Chibi Project.
Podcast
In the fall of 2006, The Chibi Project began publishing video footage of experiments as a video podcast. The first two episodes recap the initial experiments on Chibi Moon. Starting with episode 3, most episodes covers a single experiment. Episodes also often include viewer mail.
At the end of season 1, all pre-recorded experiments from the days before the podcast had been presented. From season 2 forward, all episodes feature completely new experiments.
In December 2015, the friend who donated the original Chibi Moon figure lost her battle with stomach cancer. She said, "Fuck cancer. Fuck it hard."
Patrick and Jekka will have their final Chibi Project panel at Anime Boston 2016. The panel will be recorded and published as the final episode of The Chibi Project.
Connection to BBverse
Episode 17 of The Chibi Project features Brian Brushwood breathing a giant fireball on a Sailor Mars doll.
The creator of The Chibi Project, Patrick Delahanty, is often in the chat room during the BBLiveShow and NSFW. The Lost Episode was hosted in his living room and several episodes of NSFW and Frame Rate have been filmed in the AnimeCons TV studio in his basement.
There have been live Chibi Project experiments every year at Anime Boston 2003 through 2016 (except 2015) and NSFW guest MC Frontalot was a guest at Anime Boston in 2008 and 2011. Also, Brian Brushwood was a guest at PortConMaine in 2011 and 2012 where Patrick and Jekka are on staff and conducted a live Chibi Project experiment. (Brian was not involved in these experiments as they were held on Thursday and he did not arrive until later.)
Brian Brushwood on The Chibi Project