Anemone

The word "anemone" comes from the Greek word for “windflower", ánemos, and means "daughter of the wind." It has both a positive and negative meaning; they can represent fading/dying hope and/or a feeling of having been forsaken, but can also symbolize anticipation. I've also read that in Japan it symbolizes "sincerity" but I don't have any evidence to back that up. According to Greek mythology, the anemone sprang from Aphrodite’s tears as she mourned the death of Adonis. They are also thought to bring luck and protect against evil.

In the case of this short animation, however, I think they are being given not only ... to protect against evil, but also in anticipation of making a better decision. Right now our nameless protagonist is searching and deciding if she wants to live. This is the part of her that is feeling a loss of hope, as though she were forsaken. Symbolically it is her past or youthful, hopeful self that gives her the seeds that anticipate what the future will bring.

The rabbit is the guide that transports our protagonist out of the gray sea of nameless faces and back to the warmth and comfort of her childhood home.
*Geeky side note: To me, he looks like an Amami rabbit (found in Amami Ōshima), which interestingly are an endangered species.

According to once source, the rabbit denotes "quiet endurance of one's pain." A white rabbit can symbolize the awakening of spirit or a symbol for Easter and resurrection. A prolific rabbit can symbolize the power of the sexual feelings. While I don't see anything like the last option in this anime, the first one actually makes a great deal of sense. If I were to guess, I would presume (possibly incorrectly, but in this case what harm could it do) that many people who attempt or are considering committing suicide usually are quietly enduring some form of pain, whether it is their own or someone elses. If this is the case, the presence of a rabbit would be ideal - particularly if the rabbit also symbolized an awakening of spirit.

I felt the music for this work was fine, but certainly nothing extraordinary. It didn't affect me in anyway and served mostly as pretty background music. As a bit of a snob, I think it could have been better if it had followed more of an effectual path that changed throughout the piece, however it was a short film and I don't begrudge them any for chosing the music they did.

The art style was interesting and effective though. It encourages the message and conveys the feelings of the protagonist exactly. While in cold and faceless world, she is living upside down and watching the world around her pass as she feels lost and honestly probably bored as well.

What really made this interesting for me was the choice of symbolism. It's a nice little anime and it gives a good message.

Esta review también está en español.

Several years ago, I read a mystery novel called "The Specialty of the House". In the author comments, at the beginning of the book, there was a peculiar advice: "Stop reading the author notes now, read the novel, and then come back here. That way you'll understand everything". For Anemone, I will give you a similar advice: read this review, THEN SEE THE VIDEO, AND LASTLY, READ THE SYNOPSIS (IN ANEMONE'S PAGE, OF COURSE). THAT WAY, YOU WILL UNDERSTAND BETTER WHAT HAPPENS (well, at least for me, it worked that way xD).
Understood? Ok, let's begin.

Anemone is a five minute short ... created by Junichi Yamamoto, and is about... well, let's say it's about how re-watching our past can help us to overcome the present, and move forward.

The characters in this work are: our protagonist, and ordinary young girl, a bit depressed and confused by her current situation, a yellow rabbit (looks like Mr. Yamamoto really like those, he also used one in the short film Melody), that in the style in Alice in Wonderland, have an important watch, and a child, who would be the trigger for the progress of the story. There are other characters, which I will simply call “the masked ones", which remind us, once again, that you can be alone even if you are surrounded by people...

Visually, this short is impressive. We have landscapes amazingly well done, contrasting a grey distorted world (my personal favorite) that has many dimensions (or lot of camera angles), with a much more friendly and homely atmosphere (just a regular and comfy house), full of color and hope (and... anemone seeds, apparently... I didn't get that part xD). The character design is a bit more... let's say, experimental. Not bad in any way (pretty cool, actually), but they're a bit weird.

The music is the typical in Yamamoto's works (and in the drama genre, at least in the short films I watched), pretty similar to the one in a music box, very soft and calm.

As a closure, I will simply say that Anemone is a beautiful short. When I was writing this review, I noticed (actually, already knew), that drama is not my area. Is just way out of my league. Still, I decide to make it anyway, for the same reason I did the rest: to draw attention of the people on this page, to watch something not very popular (at the moment writing this, only 200 hundred people watched it). Unlike the things I usually see, this short has a message. I recommend this film to everyone reading this. See it. Understand it, absorb the message. And be happy, which is the most important thing :).
Oh, and the other Yamamoto works are pretty similar, so, if you liked this one, you will surely like the others.
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Hace varios años, leí una historia llamada “La especialidad de la casa”, de Stanley Ellin. En los comentarios del autor, al principio del libro, había un consejo bastante peculiar: “deje de leer las notas del autor, lea la novela, y después vuelva a estas notas. De esa forma lo entenderá todo”. Para Anemone, voy a darles un consejo similar: lean esta review primero, DESPUES VEAN EL VIDEO, Y POR ULTIMO LEAN LA SINOPSIS. DE ESA FORMA, ENTENDERAN MEJOR QUE ES LO QUE PASA (bueno, al menos así paso conmigo xD).

Entendido? Bueno, empecemos.
Anemone es un corto de cinco minutos creado por Junichi Yamamoto, y trata sobre... bueno, solo digamos que trata sobre como reever nuestro pasado puede ayudarnos a sobreponernos al presente, y a avanzar hacia el futuro.

Los personajes presentes son nuestra protagonista, una joven común y corriente, acaso deprimida y confundida por su situación, un conejo amarillo (se ve que al señor Yamamoto le gustan, también uso uno en su corto Melody), que al mejor estilo Alicia en el país de las maravillas, tiene un reloj muy importante para la trama, y una niña, que será el disparador para que la historia avance. Hay otros personajes, a los que simplemente llamare “los enmascarados”, que nos recuerdan, una vez más, que podemos estar solos a pesar de estar rodeados de gente...

A nivel técnico, este corto es impecable. Por el lado grafico, tenemos unos paisajes muy, muy muuuuuy bien hechos, contrastando un distorsionado mundo gris (mi favorito personal) que posee varias dimensiones, con un mucho más amigable ambiente hogareño, llena de colores y esperanza (y de semillas... de anémonas... esa parte decididamente no la entendí bien xD). El diseño de personajes desentona un poco con el de los fondos, pero creo que eso es a propósito. No por eso estoy diciendo que están mal hechos, solo que parecen mas... “experimentales”, por usar una palabra.

La música es la típica de Yamamoto (y de este estilo de cortos dramáticos), similar a la de una caja de música, muy tranquila y conciliadora.

Para terminar, Anemone es un corto hermoso. Cuando me plantee escribir esta review, me di cuenta (en realidad, sabía de antemano) de que el drama no es mi área. Simplemente está más allá de mis habilidades. Así y todo, decidí hacerla exactamente por las mismas razones que hice las demás: para llamar la atención del resto de la gente en esta pag. Y a diferencia de lo que usualmente suelo ver, este corto tiene significado. Recomiendo este cortó a todos los que me están leyendo en este momento. Véanlo. Entiéndanlo, asimilen su mensaje. Y sean felices, que es lo más importante :)
Ah, y los otros cortos de Yamamoto tienen una onda similar, así que si les gusto este, les van a gustar los otros.

Beautiful and important animation
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I discovered "Anemone" by pure chance, while browsing a database of anime reviews, focusing on the short ones to watch.

"Anemone" is a glimpse into the life of Ai, young woman, who is first seen wandering in a colorless world of bizarre metal constructions. That world is upside-down as well. Later she meets an anthropomorphic rabbit in suit and top hat who transports her, like in Alice in Wonderland, to a different scene. The scene turns out to be her childhood home.

This anime short is a visually stunning and very wise, no-dialogue commentary on losing and regaining hope, the force of memories and ... what keeps us going. I recommend it to everyone.