2010-01

Art with a heart.

The first time I fell in love with Japanese animation was when I watched Hayao Miyazaki’s “The Graves of Fireflies”. I was expecting to be blown away by crazy animation, fantastic colors, and all cute things. Instead, by the end of the movie, I was crying over flat drawings with no lips.

Here are three animations that are worth checking out. Despite their simplistic appearance, these animations are more matured and real than many of recent 3D features. They tell stories of human condition and all its flaws with a humorous twist and charming characters.

Pompoko ( The Racoon Wars -International title-)
Based on Japanese folkfore, it is a story of Tanuki; a Japanese raccoon dog, whose habitat is diminishing because of humans’ invasion. The Tanukis are fighting humans by using their ability to shapeshifting to sabotage the on-going construction. It delivers a serious message in a whimsical and fun way, especially that the Tanukis possess a sizable pair of testicles which are able to transform into various functional ‘gears’. Directed and written by Isao Takahata, from Ghibli studio, is the director of many great animations including ‘Grave of Fireflies’, and also ‘My neighbours, the Yamadas’

Tokyo Godfathers
Albeit its mafia-ish title, it is actually a story of three homeless friends in Tokyo (a drunken bum, a transvestite, and a young runaway girl) who find an abandoned baby during Christmas time. It is realistic, gritty and heartwarming. Taking us to a world of darker and stinky corner of Tokyo where these characters are an annoyance to society. Director/Writer Satoshi Kon is well-known for his take on realistic subject-matter. His other works include ‘Paprika’, ‘Paranoia Agent’ and ‘Perfect Blue’.

My neighbours, the Yamadas (Hohokekyo tonari-no Yamada-kun)
It is a series based on a weekly Manga created by Hisaichi Ishii. A story about a family (the Yamadas) in contemporary Japan. This has the most simplistic design of all three, but nevertheless it never fails a second of conveying each characters as accurately as any non-animated series. The story is non-condescending and sometimes unpredictable. It is the first digital production from Ghibli studio, because director Takahata wanted a water-color treatment instead of traditional cell-painting animation.