Murder

Murder.
This straightforward name actually represents the plot of this outstanding anime very well - a Murder, and the struggle to find the culprit behind it. While the movie's art and idea are obviously old (and the movie itself is rather old, 1964, way before the big anime revolution in japan), it is as a matter of fact one of the best short animated movies in the history .
Well, you are probably wondering exactly what is so great about Murder. before I'll go on detail about each aspect, I want to state that this movie is actually a parody, that mocks the then-popular ... detective genere and the different popular stories that belong to this genere. It is also worth mentioning that this is the only anime ever produced by the multi-talanted artist Wada Makoto (known for his involvment in the game industry, Mario Kart DS for example is one of his works).

Story:
As I said, Murder is actually a parody, therefore the story is important. However, Murder simply explores the same story (A man was murdered) a few times, each time, a different detective is working to solve the case. While the parodies will probably appeal to older audience and people who has a larger knowledge in the western popular culture in the sixties, even younger viewers mighr enjoy the delight humour.
It should be noted though that one must not expect a great story. the movie is a parody, and therefore the story is very simple, and is not what the director wanted to show you, so I think rating it a 10 is acceptable.

Art:
Yes, I rated the Art 9.
You are probably looking at the picture and wondering what the hell is wrong with. It looks like a 5 years old boy drew this. And this is exactly my point - the Art is so childish and simple that it fits perfectly to the mood of the parody. While I personaly believe that the Art could have been better, I don't find anything faulty with using this brilliant, childish art; especially when the topic in hand is as serious as murder.

Sound:
The art is what you would expect it to be: simple and matched to the parody in hand. For example, in the film-noir parody, there is a film-noir sound. There is no voice-acting in this movie.
The other sound effects (screaming, walking, etc.) is good enough and is exactly what I would expect it to be.

Character:
I really don't have anything to say here, as the focus is on the parodies and not on the characters. I rated it a 9 and not a 10 because a little character development could be nice, but really, It is not the point.

Enjoyment:
As you can see, I really enjoyed Murder. In my opinion, it is one of the best short-movies ever produced, and I would watch it again for sure. Make sure when you watch to try to link each section in the movie to your previous popular culture knowledge, so you would be able to recognize all the parodies.

Once again I am reminded that if you want to be an animator or artisan of any kind, you don't have to aim for the same high-fidelity style that everyone else shoots for today to be "good."

This is the same short plot portrayed multiple times with different famous characters solving the case. Or, rather, how different kinds of story would approach the same inciting incident of a discovering a murdered man. The first short is Sherlock Holmes. I'm pretty sure the second was Poirot. Another one was James Bond. The last was an art film. There was a vampire story in there.

It took the concept ... in several directions, all interesting because of how differently it directed each bit. It's not just the animation on paper; it's also how the camera moves or how it handles color that differentiate the story types.

Basically this is one of those "X but Y" YouTube memes going around, but in 1964. I totally dig it.

Rate a 3
Art film
Story

Hard to tell for sure. For not only does the story do series of the same cycles but keeps coming to an end and starting right back up.

As for the true final ending let’s say I agree with the characters I give up.

Art
What is with the floor scoot walk? I didn’t know they had anticipated the room bot (current circle shaped vacuum technology for today) in 1964(year of production) as noted by the ‘walking’.
Certain artist choices are perplexing such as magical steel or silver dagger as opposed to ‘wooden’. Or a less involved example is the mantle. A decorative piece but sadly ... portrayed as wallpaper rather than the true intention of furniture.

From color choices to color style I am saddened. I understand that this time era this was probably knew but watercolor is not a real good choice for animation for it makes the characters look faded or dry.

Missed opportunities for Easter eggs like the fake newspaper. Had it been me I would have made some fun other minor stories. Or in another series of examples the chat bubbles are made up instead of actual words. I suppose it allows people to make up their own dialogue which is kind of an interesting idea but if that were the case why place fake words why not type “fill in” or something.

Sound
Not the best in turns of sound management. I strongly advise keeping fingers handy to adjust. Sure, the sound level is wonky but I am appreciative that given the age there were sound effects.