Yoru wa mijikashi aruke yo otome (2017) Reviews

• Deliciously absurd

  Evil_Herbivore2018-08-02

  Night Is Short, Walk On Girl tells the story of the many adventures a girl has during one night in Kyoto. What starts looking as a typical story about a young girl drinking in a bar, soon becomes a crazy roller coaster of unlikely events. It's impossible to get bored while watching the movie, as there is a constant feeling that virtually anything can happen: we see a drinking competition, a used book sale, a guerilla theatre performance, even some magic happens. The characters are all over the top, which suits the story perfectly. At the same time, the movie touches a number of important issues, such as love, loneliness, and greed. The animation in the movie is just beautiful. It's colorful and very pleasant to the eye. It is perfect for this kind of story, with the more realistic parts animated more traditionally and the more absurdist parts looking pretty much like an acid trip. Watching the movie is a really interesting experience and I'm sure I won't forget it.

• The fun of youth, relationships and college life

  bogus-bogus-one2018-06-22

  It's kind of a boy meets girl story, but so much more too. There is a series of fantastical scenes as characters journey thru the cities night spots. Often bizarre, but somehow very recognizable and... funny. For me, this film really captured the spirit of life in college. I kept remembering thoughts and feelings from those days and nights. It definitely has a Japanese feel to it too, which I really like but.. I understand that it may not be for everyone.

• A Fun Fantastic Romp

  mcalister_tyler2018-08-27

  The film follows two people. Otome (Kana Hanazawa), a woman who has a strong taste for alcohol, and seems entirely more optimistic than the world that surrounds her. Unbeknownst to her, a man who we only know as Senpai (Gen Hoshino) is madly in love with her, and has strategized a method of "happening" to run into her. This night is different, as Senpai decides he is going to confess his love to her, but each attempt is hijacked by the seemingly endless adventure that Otome finds herself in, meeting all sorts of interesting individuals along the way. I rarely go out of my way to seek out foreign films before (or if) they get a United States release, but after seeing the trailer for this film, I knew that I had to see it one way or another. The artistic style that is used in this movie that also so seamlessly helps the story move along is truly impressive. I truly believe this is the most beautifully anime film I have seen in awhile. Its unique style along is something to gawk at. Even more important is the fantastic comedy that you'll find in this film with the ridiculous situations that you find our characters in. It carries a level of awareness that really gets you when it wants to. I found myself absolutely absorbed into the story that was being told in this film, and truly felt for each character that was brought into the film. Otome's spirit makes her an endearing character you love keeping up with, while Senpai's determination makes him another character that you're rooting for all the way to the end. Each character has a developed personality, and is really a character of their own. I never felt like any character was interchangeable, each was their own distinct person. They add to this movie's world. This is really a film that you need to see for yourself, because as soon as I thought I had figured out what this film was going to be like, it suddenly changes into a musical. Which fits into the story! It is rooted in reality at times, and then for specific moments it gets far away from reality and almost feels like a fantasy picture with incredible visuals. They also make a great usage of a dream sequence to symbolize something that is happening in the plot. There are so many topics that are involved in this film, I can't possibly unwrap them all here in one review, but I will cover the ones that stuck out to me the most. The first part of the film has a heavy use of alcohol, alcohol launches Otome's whole adventure, it also shows how in a big town like Kyoto, Otome and her two newly found friends begin to link up with people throughout the town to barhop together. We see how they come together for a good time, the link between them being alcohol. Three separate parties come together to enjoy drink. You see the theme of love covered throughout the film, especially with how important Senpai makes him confessing to Otomo. This is a long withheld love, that he is finally coming around to the fact that he needs to express it to her. Don is another character who has vowed not to change his underwear until he reunites with a woman he fell in love with a long time ago. Strange? Yes. Strangely romantic? Also yes. Senpai also brings forward the discussion of anxiety as well as the self-esteem issues. Otome also demonstrates the idea of constantly moving forward without taking the time to pay attention to the people around you. You can see this through the whole night of the film, she's constantly walking somewhere while Senpai is somewhere behind, trying to catch up with her, but he just can't stop getting into the bizarre situations. Overall, this film is a super entertaining romp that doesn't seem to stammer or drag at any point. The voice actors really bring the characters to life along with the fantastic animation. If the story doesn't entertain you, it will at least keep you enthralled with the beautiful visuals. I can't say that this film is for everyone, due to the insane structure and frequent changes made to the style of film. I can say however that this is one of the best anime films I've ever seen. It is definitely worth a watch if you think this is a film you can get with. A love story, actually, multiple love stories that will pull at your heart strings, and keep you roaring with laughs at the same time, while touching down on some major topics in amazing ways.

• The Wonders of Human Connection in The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl

  BlueFox942018-09-01

  (Originally published on the Impacting Culture blog) "Senpai, what a coincidence!" "By chance, I was passing by." - "The Girl With Black Hair" (Kana Hanazawa) and "Senpai" (Gen Hoshino) "Why do you drink?" "I was led by those I was fated to meet." - Rihaku-san (Mugihito) and "The Girl With Black Hair" (Kana Hanazawa) Potential spoilers below Back in mid-May, I reviewed Lu Over the Wall. Months later, I remain pleasantly surprised at its emotion, focused target audience, and musical bounce. The coming-of-age anime film half-marked Japanese director Masaaki Yuasa's return to the big screen since his 2004 cult feature debut Mind Game and following just over a decade of small screen projects. I wrote "half-marks" because Yuasa had directed another movie that got released in Japan one month prior to Lu Over the Wall. I even urged GKIDS to distribute Yuasa's other anime feature before 2018's end. That film is The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl (henceforth shortened to Night Is Short; see end of review as well) and it could very well go down as one of the best animated films of the 2010s. A naïve but headstrong and optimistic young woman (Kana Hanazawa), known as "The Girl With Black Hair" (henceforth "Otome", Japanese for "maiden"), goes on a long night on the town. She interacts with an assortment of eccentric characters. Among these is a male classmate (Gen Hoshino) at her university, known only as "Senpai" (Japanese: "senior"). Senpai has long been smitten by Otome. His best efforts at vying for her affections, however, has amounted to just "Operation A.H.O. (Appear Before her Often)", so he intends to confess his feelings to her this night. Given his nerves, clumsiness, and all the characters socializing between them, this night could very well end up feeling like a whole year. If I take slight issue with anything in Night Is Short, it would involve the brisk character introductions of its opening minutes. Yuasa starts his audience at once with Otome at an evening wedding banquet for presumed acquaintances from school. She gulps one of her first drinks for the night, then expresses slight disappointment when her tablemates, already more buzzed than her, request Bireley's orange soda for the table. Unbeknownst to Otome, Senpai is already watching her from across the banquet hall. At his table are two school friends who will soon become major supporting players in the story: The first is the School Festival Executive Head (Hiroshi Kamiya), whose good looks and secret crossdressing of female pop culture characters (think cosplaying and Ed Wood rather than The Danish Girl) make legions of his classmates go crazy for him. That evening, the Executive Head is directing his high-tech and elite campus security guard to investigate and halt the university's evasive theatre troupe. Rumor has it that the troupe will put on scenes from a "guerrilla musical" at seemingly random school festival spots later that evening. Little does the Executive Head know that the book and songs of this guerilla musical are being composed by "Don Underwear" (Ryuji Akiyama), Senpai's other school friend at the table. The hefty Don Underwear has vowed not to change his underwear (hence his self-given moniker) until he reunites with his destined love, whom he may have met at last year's school festival. Viewers have to retain much of this onslaught of information to comprehend the rest of the anime feature's runtime. Processing the characters and their respective to-do lists for the night as the opening titles began to roll, I was left wondering how the rest of the movie would proceed. By the time the end credits song began playing, however, I was already making comparisons with Sorry to Bother You, writer-director Boots Riley's absurdist comedy from a few months ago. With both Night Is Short and Sorry to Bother You, I question whether or not their characters, subplots, and themes all collapse under their own collective weights. That concern becomes moot when I realize that both films have provided me with two of the most entertaining and thrilling viewing experiences of 2018. Night Is Short succeeds in pinning down a concrete theme for itself and centering it on the two leads. Otome makes up for her naiveté with an assertive optimism for what lies ahead of her in life and what connects her with the characters she meets, be it alcohol, romance, or sickness. As such, she charges through this night like a saintly train. It certainly helps that Otome can drink alcohol like water, the alcohol evaporating from her system like gentle butterflies as seen in the drinking contest between her and wizened local crime boss Rihaku-san (Mugihito). Senpai, meanwhile, struggles through this night, losing his pants to Rihaku-san, who does this to hapless male strangers as an habitual prank. Once Senpai sets out for a used books market to retrieve Ratatatam, a cherished childhood book of Otome, he rebounds, first jumping into a contest of eating highly spicy foods in Rihaku-san's black market tent of used books. Later on, he barges into the final scene of Don Underwear's guerilla musical to act and sing alongside Otome, who was cast at the last second. Even after that glorious scene of seemingly improvised musical numbers (and it *is* glorious), Senpai undergoes great anxiety when he learns via text that Otome will soon visit him in the morning to treat his sudden cold. The eight-minute sequence that follows is anime's response to Mother's fifteen-minute "FULL-BLOWN FRENZY/WAR ZONE" sequence from last year (which later made my top 10 scenes of 2017 list). The dreamed battle between Senpai's cowboys of instinct and the scrawny perverts of hesitance escalate to a spectacular animated cacophony of young adult nerves. As we enter the final third of 2018, I stand holding director Masaaki Yuasa and actor Joaquin Phoenix in towering regard. Phoenix has starred in two movies - You Were Never Really Here and Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot - and astonishes with his range in both. (He still has The Sisters Brothers ahead of him.) Likewise, Yuasa has directed two compelling anime features in one year with Lu Over the Wall and especially The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl. It will disappoint - no, *infuriate* - me if Phoenix misses out on Best Actor notices and Yuasa on Best Animated Feature notices for either of their dual masterful offerings. I *beseech* the Academy to not overlook these two great artists at the 91st Oscars. Until then and hopefully long afterwards, we all must move forward a little at a time, cherishing the connections we make along the way. *The informal Hepburn romanization of the movie's original Japanese title is "Yoru wa Mijikashi Aruke yo Otome", which literally translates to "The Night Is But Short, So Walk on, Maiden" (other international title renderings here). (Parental Note: The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl has been rated 15 by the BBFC for "strong sex references".) R.N.B.

• Very enjoyable

  manycolours2019-01-30

  Super psychedelic romantic night in Kyoto Wonderland. But with the many, many nods to the Tatami Galaxy series, I would recommend that as mandatory viewing first to be in on all the jokes.