Pianoman

This short made my entire day. I went in completely blind, and it hit me like an earthquake. And then it hit me again when I started thinking about it, with continuous aftershocks the more I kept thinking about it. That's one telling sign of a good work of art.

In terms of both content and execution, the movie is exactly where it wants to be at any given moment. In the five short minutes of its runtime it takes you on a *wild* ride, building up tension that erupts in a massive pay-off that is both deeply emotional and viciously clever, but it never feels ... forced or exploitative. Like a good dish, it immediately traps you in and leaves you invigorated and deeply satisfied. Instead of thinking "okay, next", you want to stop there and savor the taste. You've just consumed something delicious; you liked it not because of its nutritional quality, nor because it was small enough not to cause inconvenience—you liked it because it was a quality dish in its own right. Director Tetsuro Kodama is most certainly a chef, and Pianoman is his unique recipe.

All things considered, it's easily one of the best movies I've seen, regardless of the length.

(P.S. You can skip the trailer. It functions as a sort of a prequel, but I don't think it adds anything to the story.)

An extremely shallow... short film? music video? The music is corny and lame, and seems to just be used as a device of "taming one's demons" or the "awakening of memory." Awful "mystical" flutes, fast piano—no atmosphere or weight to speak of. There's no meaning to any of this beyond just basic themes that are done to death, only with poor execution. The man has amnesia and ends the short with amnesia. He's none the wiser by the end, we're none the wiser, and there's really no reason to care about anything that happens.

The set-pieces are decent enough, but this short cobbles together disparate and ... generic fantasy elements to no avail. Art-wise, it appears as an advanced student film, I suppose, but the character looks really, really dumb with the torn sleeves, and there is a clumsiness to the whole fiasco that leads to nausea. The devil also looks like a Saturday morning cartoon villain. Not a dignified portrayal, nor a menacing one. Yuck, all around.

Ostentatious garbage as has only been seen before in student films.

A quick glance at the visuals makes it clear this is an artistic short, rather than a narrative one. On the outset a divisive genre, and even more so being as it only ever results in masterpieces or swill, rarely an in-between.

Pianoman is the latter. I commend the team behind it for trying, and I think it's great they got the opportunity to, but it really is awful. If five minutes is still too long to waste, approach with caution.

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There's nothing to say on the story front. It's what the synopsis says, and that's about ... it. Nothing of meaning happens throughout the short, and by the end there's literally no change. Considering the heavy use of music, its practically an AMV with a few voice lines now and then.

The same can be said of character, it's devoid. There is a single man, he interacts with some instruments. He doesn't have a personality other than being a bit confused to start with. While a decent arc could do the trick to make him interesting, there isn't one. By the end of Pianoman, said man is exactly the same as he began.

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With technical aspects the peaks of the ONA can be found. The animation is pretty good, with some very nice shots near the middle and end. The art of Pianoman is also reasonable, giving a detailed, realistic style to the protagonist, while a more stylised, "fairytale" look to the various creatures that apparate as the piece goes on. The music is rather strong, being a single arrangement that flows unfaltered and that harmonises with the in-scene music the protagonist plays.

That's about all the praise I can give, as when it comes to the world and tone, it's a huge step down. Not a lot can be done when setting a piece in White Void (tm), and not a lot is. There are two set pieces, one of which is only ever observed from a distance, and the other is just to break the monotony of the floor for a bit. Neither are used in an interesting manner, especially the latter. There's something of an attempt with growing plantlife that blooms, but it doesn't really have a conclusion or a clear meaning, so it doesn't land at all.

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When laid out, it's clear the biggest problem is the short being pointless. If there is a story to tell, Echoes didn't manage to, and if there isn't then why did they even bother in the first place.

I normally try to spend this point suggesting ways I'd allay its issues, but just as the short says, "there is nothing for [me] here." I'm done with it, and it'll be a while before I can give this Studio the time of day.