Night Is Short, Walk on Girl

This film can best be described as a collection of very funny, very strange, and very creative images and ideas packed into the narrative of two primary leads. Its unpredictability makes it a ton of fun to watch.

The director is known for his weird style of directing of characters and animation and it definitely works making one of the most uniquely told movies of the year and I loved it. Some beats in the middle can drag and characters make some weird decisions but for the most part, this is a well done animated movie and one of the best films of the year.

'The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl,' based on the novel by Tomihiko Morimi and directed by Masaaki Yuasa, is a film that I have been yearning to watch for quite some time. After waiting for the right time to watch it, it finally came to be that the day I watched it was today. It seemed like the right time for two reasons: One, I had just finished watching 'The Tatami Galaxy' (which I had viewed in preparation for this movie and enjoyed very much) this afternoon, and two, I was feeling a little bit down from all the news and viewpoints of our current social situation being thrown around and was in dire need of something that would liven me up again. 'The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl' did just that!

In the city of Kyoto, a young raven-haired university student sets off on a night of fun, adventure, and plenty of colorful alcoholic beverages to spare. During this time, she encounters an idiosyncratic group of Kyoto residents and dances her way through one incredible situation after another, charming everyone along the way with her optimistic personality and her high tolerance for liquor. Elsewhere, another university student pathetically strives to meet up with her and win her heart, constantly getting bogged down by a series of inconvenient obstacles.

Running at just an hour-and-a-half, 'The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl' feels like an adrenaline rush of unlikely circumstances and fantastical occurrences. Multiple events occur within the span of the night in which this movie is set. To name a few without spoiling the movie, there's a drinking contest with a supernatural being, a search for a long-lost children's book, and a guerilla theatre production featuring fabulous musical numbers, all pulled from the pages of Morimi's novel and brought to life with some of the most whimsical and hallucinatory works of animation ever seen in a film.

By the end of the film, I felt as though the night I had experienced with the raven-haired hero had lasted an eternity, and I enjoyed every single minute of it. It's a gorgeous, candy-colored dreamlike experience with an all-out sense of wacky sweetness, and I doubt I'll be seeing anything like this for a while.

For anyone with even a slight interest in animation, this is an essential watch. For those willing to go the extra mile, I highly recommend viewing 'The Tatami Galaxy' in advance.

I saw this film at the Animation is Film festival in LA, on a huge screen in a packed theater fairly late at night -- probably the best way to see it. The story opens on a wedding, though the bride and groom play only an incidental role in the remainder. The heroine spends an incredibly long and eventful night at first drinking everyone under the table, then searching for a long-lost book, accidentally acting in a guerrilla play, and finally passing out remedies to a town overwhelmed by the same nasty cold. Various subplots proceed simultaneously, the most important of which is the pursuit of our heroine by Senpai, a smart but insecure fellow who is infatuated with her. None of this is in the least constrained by reality, and all of it is funny and sometimes touching. Catch it in a theater if you can.

(Warning: if you have a family history of alcoholism or have had problems with it yourself, you might want to skip this film! It unashamedly glorifies consumption of lots of alcoholic beverages while happily ignoring the real-world consequences.)

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.