Hi no yôjin

Synopsis: Okawa the daughter of a merchant family and Matsukichi, disowned by his family, are drawn to each other.

Director Ôtomo is legendary for writing and directing the anime masterpiece Akira. But this is a very different film, a story about two childhood friends, one of which becomes obsessed with becoming a fireman. Much of the film is dialog(subtitled) which is my least favorite approach to animation. Almostthe entire story is told with extreme long shots, so you can barely see the character's faces. The animation has an acceptable amount of detail, but less that what we've come to expect from Ôtomo. There is very little action in the film until the climax and even then there really isn't a proper ending.

"Combustible", also called "Hi no Yojin", is a short Drama-Anime movie from 2012, directed by Katsuhiro Otomo. It is a part of the feature film compilation called "Short Peace" and runs for 13 minutes.

Basic plot: Set in the Edo period this film is a story of Okawa, the daughter of the merchant family. She leads a lonely childhood, despite the friendship between her and the boy next door Matsukichi (who dreams of becoming fireman).

Many years later, the now tattooed Matsukichi joins a brave fire brigade. But Okawa isn't so lucky as her parents are busy to arrange a wedding for her. Longing for Matsukichi to save her, she accidentally starts a great fire...

By all of the four short animated "Short Peace" movies I've seen, this one is my favorite. In common with the timeless classic "Akira" also made by Katsuhiro Otomo, it has a great story build-up and great animation, which makes this film as realistic as overly possible. The soundtrack which can be heard during the film's climax is pretty stunning as well. Pretty great story of love, honor and firefighting in the ancient Japan.

Highly recommended to be watched by any fan of mature oriented, but realistic animation from Japan.

My overall rating: 9/10.

The other "Short Peace" movies include: "Possessions" (Tsukumo), "Gambo" and "A Farewell to Weapons" (Buki yo Saraba).