Yuasa Masaaki is either losing his touch or I have gotten tired of his never- changing style.
I admit I was never a fan of Kemonozume, but I liked his other series such as Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei, Kaiba and Ping Pong The Animation. His movie "Mind Game" didn't really impress me, but was still nearly as memorable as any of the other titles I have just now mentioned -even Kemonozume- and surely better than Yoru wa mijikashi (AKA this movie I am reviewing). And yes, I have seen everything he has ever done and speak as a person whose favorite series from 2010 used to be The Tatami Galaxy, I put it even above Katanagatari in ranking, and that year is still considered the best year for anime by many connoisseurs.
Yoru wa mijikashi reminds me of his short animated films. Or rather a collection of those. The movie is a mess, rushed, random and build illogical. Half the time it feels like he is trying to copy Satoshi Kon's (RIP) screen transitions (and failing miserably) and half the time it feels like he tries extremely hard to be original so he would get rank #2 as the most meme anime director after Shinbou Akiyuki. Also failing this miserably. Because of this, I already know this will be his least memorable work for me. Other than the dancing and drinking challenge scenes, I can't say I was left for many other moments to think back to.
I guess part of the reason why I can't even call this movie average is how it copies The Tatami Galaxy (one of the alternative titles is even called "The Maiden Galaxy"). The character design is "ripped off" from that work. It's sad that Yuasa couldn't manage to do anything more interesting and original than this. It's hard to understand why he wanted to put up a new animation studio and start it off with a work that goes back to his best direction 7 years back. I can only assume that this work is aimed for a completely new audience who doesn't expect anything from him. Maybe I am too harsh considering how many long-term viewers are praising this, but with my experience of nearly 1500 anime series, all I can say is "not recommended." Go watch any of his earlier works instead or pick up Uchouten Kazoku for similar experience with better execution and characters.
I admit I was never a fan of Kemonozume, but I liked his other series such as Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei, Kaiba and Ping Pong The Animation. His movie "Mind Game" didn't really impress me, but was still nearly as memorable as any of the other titles I have just now mentioned -even Kemonozume- and surely better than Yoru wa mijikashi (AKA this movie I am reviewing). And yes, I have seen everything he has ever done and speak as a person whose favorite series from 2010 used to be The Tatami Galaxy, I put it even above Katanagatari in ranking, and that year is still considered the best year for anime by many connoisseurs.
Yoru wa mijikashi reminds me of his short animated films. Or rather a collection of those. The movie is a mess, rushed, random and build illogical. Half the time it feels like he is trying to copy Satoshi Kon's (RIP) screen transitions (and failing miserably) and half the time it feels like he tries extremely hard to be original so he would get rank #2 as the most meme anime director after Shinbou Akiyuki. Also failing this miserably. Because of this, I already know this will be his least memorable work for me. Other than the dancing and drinking challenge scenes, I can't say I was left for many other moments to think back to.
I guess part of the reason why I can't even call this movie average is how it copies The Tatami Galaxy (one of the alternative titles is even called "The Maiden Galaxy"). The character design is "ripped off" from that work. It's sad that Yuasa couldn't manage to do anything more interesting and original than this. It's hard to understand why he wanted to put up a new animation studio and start it off with a work that goes back to his best direction 7 years back. I can only assume that this work is aimed for a completely new audience who doesn't expect anything from him. Maybe I am too harsh considering how many long-term viewers are praising this, but with my experience of nearly 1500 anime series, all I can say is "not recommended." Go watch any of his earlier works instead or pick up Uchouten Kazoku for similar experience with better execution and characters.