Once in a while, there pops up a work of fiction that is not burdened by boundaries set by industry and media consumers nowadays. A work that isn't afraid to offer something extraordinary and to play with possibilities of the platform it stands on. A piece of expressionistic art which portrays it's rich content in the most unconventional of manners. Experimental creation which embraces charm and creativity with all it's being.
There also pops up a person who has guts and inspiration to make all of this happen, and in the last decade of anime industry, that usually happens to be Masaaki Yuasa, who keeps
...
transcending the medium with his talent over and over again. The man behind Mind Game, Ping Pong The Animation, Kaiba and Tatami Galaxy arrived to save the anime again by adapting yet another Tomihiko Morimi novel- Night Is Short, Walk On Girl.
With strong visual and even contentual resemblence to forementioned Tatami Galaxy, Yoru Wa Mijikashi Arukeyo Otome kicks off by presenting us yet another beautiful raven-haired maiden and a lively night in Kyoto full of celebrations of all sorts, all kinds of people having fun and, most importantly, all kinds of alcohol drinks. As our cute protagonist walks around the city from one entertaining place to another, she encounters and interacts with all kinds of both ordinary and extraordinary people in coincidental and intentional meetings. Though, are coincidental meetings really coincidental, or are all of them preordered and tied by the infamous red string of fate? Are the meetings that seem coincidental to us actually not coincidental at all and we're blind to what really is behind them? Or, what if the most important meetings in our life happen suddenly, unintentionally? How does our perception of our surroundings and time itself affect our lives? Are we really pulling out the maximum of our lives?
This movie will subtly explore these questions in span of a single night in Kyoto, providing us a heartwarming, touching and impacting story which cherishes fate, love, human connection, life, youth, moment and love. Theme exploaration and message deliverance is achieved by fantastically characterized and explored cast and pure power of expressionistic and dadaistic visuals permeated by heavy load of symbolism, metaphors and surrealistic imagery enhanced by Yuasa's masterful directorial prowess.
The plot is, basically, just what I described earlier. Even though what happens on screen for a huge amount of time is surreal, story itself is based on entirely realistic stuff and is set in an ordinary world, so it's moved only by characters and their interactions. Pacing is really fast and transitions are quick, which means that there is constantly something happening. And in case of this movie, something means "A LOT of stuff". As I said before, there's no huge plot here, but it still grabs all the attention and keeps being fun for it's entire runtime by having a real lot of things constantly happen. That, of course, goes with it's setting and I really can't think of a better way to portray a fun night with addition of a corky bunch which makes for our cast.
Characters feel, with no exaggeration, genuinely alive. Fantastically portrayed bunch which will make you sympathise and feel the atmosphere of story with ease, even though many side characters have no long-term use for the story. Cast is also well balanced in terms of real person- theme device relation, meaning that no particular character (or a very few of them in the worst case) serve merely as a theme portrayal device, without any personal trait added. Some characters though are surreal or merely symbolic, but they're easily noticable and their roles are pretty much "right in the face". Main cast is well fleshed out both thematically and literally, though exactly as much as movie needs them to be. Main character(s) are, in Tatami Galaxy fashion, unnamed, which hints on self- insert and that makes the whole story, especially the conclusion, even more impactful and powerful. Tatami Galaxy fans will have another chance to meet some familiar faces, so there's another thing too look forward to.
Visual style is, again, insanely similar to Tatami Galaxy and many characters even reappear here, though similar designs are mostly signifying similar roles and personal traits characters in this story have, so don't mistake it (though it would be insanely stupid anyways) for a continuation to forementioned show. Most of the movie's charm is hidden exactly in visuals however, since they're what makes it playful, lively, but most of all subtextually rich. Yuasa plays around with imagery in the best possible way, importing visual metaphors and symbolism in a large amout of scenes, but also visually portraying things which otherwise would be presented by, for example, basic body language and inner monologue. That helps subtle and pretty indirect characterization, theme portrayal and atmosphere making, which oftenly ends up making powerful, explosive and creative scenes. Though, besides playful, it is breathtaking and striking as well. Shot composition is masterful basically all the time, so it makes for a real spectacle when a strong and emotional scene kicks in, and there's a lot of such moments throughout the movie. Another notable stuff when talking about visuals are results of Yuasa's experience- cutting the scene or letting the scene be exactly when needed, fluid animation and creative directorial solutions for bunch of scenes, use of colour keys for both emotions and subtextual stuff, excellent use of juxtapositioning and such stuff. There are some of pretty unique and refreshing elements imported as well, such as musical theatrical play scenes which are heavily tied to what show is about and so on, but you'll see it for yourself.
Though technical side of movie's visual component shines too. Polished visuals combined with fluid animation and bright colors is a blend that really adds up to overall impression, especially when used in this manner. Character designs are pretty simplistic and totally unique compared to the rest of the anime scene today, and most importantly they genuinely portray and complement personalities of characters, so they're a perfect fit. Music makes it even more of a treat, for it fits perfectly all the time.
With all being said, this movie is probably not the best place to start your journey through Masaaki Yuasa's opus and you might wanna watch at least Tatami Galaxy before you dig into this, just so you get familiar with the style of his and even to appreciate this movie more, but that's just a piece of advice. Night Is Short, Walk On Girl stands for yet another proof of Yuasa's endless talent and one of true saviors of anime industry for people who are more than casuals. Tastefully presented, charming, emotional, lively, heartwarming, impacting and maybe even life-changing for someone, this movie is a pure breath of fresh air and even a form of art. Greatly written candy and treat for eyes, ears and soul. Thematically rich, yet fun, easily digestible and fluid. All in all, a must watch for anyone who knows to recognise true merits in media.
For the punchline, I'll just alter movie's title a bit and say:
"Life is short, walk on and inhale it".
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Nov 20, 2017
Yoru wa Mijikashi Arukeyo Otome
(Anime)
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Once in a while, there pops up a work of fiction that is not burdened by boundaries set by industry and media consumers nowadays. A work that isn't afraid to offer something extraordinary and to play with possibilities of the platform it stands on. A piece of expressionistic art which portrays it's rich content in the most unconventional of manners. Experimental creation which embraces charm and creativity with all it's being.
There also pops up a person who has guts and inspiration to make all of this happen, and in the last decade of anime industry, that usually happens to be Masaaki Yuasa, who keeps ... |
