Mind Game

I saw this piece on local Animefest and I tell you what. I honestly thought my head will blow. Such seemingly never-ending torrent of originality and imagination is truly unprecedented. There are numerous animation techniques mixed together, loads of standard anime exaggeration (no manga though), psychedelic trips, serious issues and silly sarcastic humor. There's no way an intelligent non-shallow adult would not like this masterpiece. Consider yourself as unprepared for what you will see but be ready to be surprised when you do and mentally exhausted once you did.

By the way, describing the plot of Mind Game would be utterly stupid. It's a mind game alright, you will get the message one way or another.

Straight 10/10

This movie is to a human mind what solving a really complex formula is to a physicist: an eureka! What I mean by this is this movie has all the elements of a life changing experience. You go expecting another entertaining dime-a-dozen type of film but you come out bewildered instead. Okay sure maybe this is a bit of an overstatement but it deserves some overstating since it only gets a poor review of not even 8 stars here on IMDb. I decided to give it a full 10.

I am not going to spoil the experience for you and I will just to sum it up in a few short words. This is the story of a loser named Nishi who bumps into his old flame while she's being chased by some bad guys. They eventually end up the girl's family restaurant where bad guys show up things go horribly wrong and everything changes for everyone.

I found the little snippets in between the story to be most valuable rather than the story itself. Although you need to follow the story closely to understand the snippets. Is is the little things that count. This movie is a lesson. Maybe some sort of don't do what I did type of lesson I don't know. But whatever it is I feel is the only drug you can take visually.

Enjoy.

This film is beyond anything that has been made to date, both in Japan and the U.S. It is not a conventional narrative, yet the narrative clips along like a kayaker on speed. It seesaws from tight-tension drama to dreamy atmospheric visualscapes to video-game style song and dance routines! The overall plot is unimportant yet is completely engaging and satisfying. The characters come across as real people, and the shifts in perspective and personality heighten our understanding of each character as they face their ordeals. We get a sense of time both passing and standing still- which is the true mark of a genius of film: The ability to wrap us up in his concept of time and carry us along breathlessly.

If you like shiny robots, plots about strange bio-computer viruses that mutate people into shiny robots, and silly relationship dramas about high school kids with strange powers, please avoid this film. If, however, you appreciate innovative stream-of-consciousness film-making, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants pacing, and so-sloppy-its-tight design, get yourself this DVD!!!! (Fans of FLCL take note!) Its hard to find in the U.S. right now (July 17th 2005) but it is poised to explode.

An additional note of interest is the fact that Matthew Minami is the voice of the old man- Jiisan. (You may remember him from the clips of him interviewing Bill Murray on Matthew's Best Hit TV that were featured in Lost in Translation...)

I just saw Mind Game on YouTube after AMID in Cartoon Brew recommended it and I've gotta tell you: You have not and most likely will never see anything like it again! Initially seeming to be a tale about Nishi and his unrequited crush on Myon since childhood, this anime goes in all kaleidoscopic directions that leaves you breathless all the while. If you're tired of all the mostly cookie-cutter CGI features that have bombarded features for the past few years, and want something more unique in Japanese animation, Mind Game fits the bill perfectly! All the animation techniques that have ever existed seem to come into play here and the music score will take you on the wildest trip possible! So on that note, seek Mind Game on YouTube or wherever you can find it.

I think 'Mind Game' is one of those movies that you either really like or really hate, but never in the middle. I spent first 20 minutes itching to turn it off since the animation style didn't seem all that pleasant, but then things just kept happening and before I knew it I was really immersed in it.

'Mind Game' has everything: irony, action, humour , even romance; and it touches practically every aspect of human life, going from relationships to domestic problems. All that covered in psychedelic imagery leaves a great impression.

You might experience various emotions watching this movie but one thing for sure, you won't feel like you've wasted your time when it's over.