Gorin Ghostwhisper Yuko | Designer Toy Character AI Shorts

It carries the rebirth scroll in its mouth,stepping out of the darkness one paw at a time.

Late Studio created two vertical Instagram shorts for designer toy brand TOOPLASTIC, building a first impression of Ghostwhisper Yuko, a new character in the Gorin series. Yuko is Minamoto no Yoshitsune’s most loyal companion. Working mainly with an AI video workflow and finishing in post-production, the team lets this toy fox appear from the darkness first, then walk beside Yoshitsune across ink-wash snow mountains. Late Studio handled concept, storyboard, AI video generation and post-production polish, delivering two 4:5 vertical shorts of about 11 and 15 seconds.

Starting from a Character Card | The Fox of Gratitude

Yuko’s story is written on the back of its character card: the fox is Yoshitsune’s most loyal companion, silently guarding him in the Gorin World out of gratitude. After accompanying him through endless inner torment, Yoshitsune entrusted his “appearance” to Yuko through the rebirth scroll, transforming an ordinary fox into a ghostwhisper. Now, clutching the scroll in its mouth, Yuko accompanies the souls trapped in the Gorin World.

This lore became the backbone of both shorts: the first introduces what Yuko looks like, the second tells its bond with Yoshitsune.

Short 1 | Beginning with a Pair of Purple Eyes

The short opens on a black screen, with only a pair of purple eyes lighting up. Yuko steps closer out of the darkness, purple flames of resentment ignite all around, and finally the camera pushes in on the rebirth scroll in its mouth.

Viewers see the eyes first, then the silhouette, and only at the end the details. This rhythm continues the Gorin series’ dark palette and purple flames, completing a character entrance within 11 seconds.

Short 2 | Walking with Yoshitsune

The second short moves the scene to ink-wash snow mountains. Yuko first stands alone on a ridge, then walks to the side of the armoured Yoshitsune; Yoshitsune stands firm with his sword as Yuko leaps past in front of him.

During storyboard revisions, a low-angle shot was added: the fox crosses the frame, the samurai leads the way. The final shot looks down from above as the two figures follow a winding mountain path into the light, echoing the character card’s idea of accompanying lost souls.

The Toughest Part | It Must Not Look “AI”

This production relied mainly on an AI video workflow, and the biggest risk was a result that obviously looks “AI”: the character changing slightly from shot to shot, jumpy camera language, unstable details. For a toy character about to launch, an off-model design is more damaging than any effect.

The team first used storyboards to lock each shot’s composition and character design, generated the video shot by shot, then polished and cleaned up the images in post-production, so that Yuko’s pointed ears, purple tail, round shoulder shield and the scroll in its mouth stay consistent in every shot.

Back to the Character Card | Bringing Yuko into the Gorin World

Both shorts start from the story on the character card and end by returning to it: Yuko, holding the rebirth scroll in its mouth, accompanies the souls of the Gorin World. Viewers remember its look first, then its story.

The two 4:5 vertical shorts build Yuko’s character impression for its Instagram launch, and extend the dark world the team has shaped for the Gorin series.

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