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[Categories: OAVs, Movies and Full Series]

The shorts review #1: Mizu no Kotoba and She & Her Cat

Posted by Martin  [Tags: arthouse, Makoto Shinkai, Yasuhiro Yoshiura]

This post is something of an experiment. There are a few bits of anime that are too short in terms of running time to warrant a post of their own - there simply isn’t enough to say about each one individually so I’ve decided to take on two in one go; the only common feature between them, really, is the fact that they aren’t very long. I don’t stumble on these short-and-sweet pieces very often, so I’m making no promises as to how regular this feature will be (recommendations for more are welcome, people). First up though is Yasuhiro Yoshiura’s nine minute effort Mizu no Kotoba (Aquatic Language) and my long-overdue fanboy rave of She and Her Cat.

Mizu no Kotoba

I recently tracked down this particular film because it was the ‘other’ completed production from Yasuhiro Yoshiura, the creative mind behind that marvellous piece of dystopian sci-fi Pale Coccoon; the trailer for his latest effort, Eve no Jikan (The Time of Eve) was posted online recently in both high and low res, and it’s shot my expectations into the stratosphere. My curiousity piqued further, I sought out his first piece which I sadly could only find on Youtube and dubbed. Nevertheless, found it I did and decided to share its quirky win with the rest of you.

What made Pale Coccoon so special was not just the quality of the home-grown CGI animation and the music - it was a great concept told in a short space of time. This ’succinct’ approach to storytelling was just one of the factors that make me think of Yoshiura as a spiritual equivalent to early Makoto Shinkai; their themes and methods differ slightly of course but as with Pale Coccoon, Mizu no Kotoba doesn’t need much time, or budget, to convey its ideas and enthrall you during its (albeit short) time. Its premise is simple: it consists of several conversations between customers in a cafe, whose topics of discussion may or may not be connected. I’m not sure what it’s saying from that perspective, but half the fun is coming up with your own interpretation; it’s almost as if you’ve wandered into one scene of a longer film, or, indeed, the mental doodling that goes on inside its writer’s head.

The film is philosophical in a light and undemanding way, with some surreal moments and a nice twist at the end; it does what Pale Coccoon did from a thematic standpoint but in a smaller, more mundane setting and on a much more modest scale (extrapolating what these films do then, I hope you can understand why I think Eve no Jikan will be awesome). Visually it’s nothing spectacular of course - it would be impressive if it were, say, Yoshiura’s university project or something. The eyes for instance don’t look ‘right’ and the animation is pretty basic but it’s a refreshing departure from the norm; while it doesn’t shout quality from the rooftops it’s oozing film-making potential from every pore and is interesting in its own right.

She and Her Cat

Speaking of early Shinkai, She and Her Cat is one of my favourite love stories, from my favourite director of love stories (and one of my favourite directors, full stop). Okay, so it’s a movie about a young woman and her pet but while the bond between cat and owner isn’t romantic and isn’t family per se either, there’s that sense of companionship and affection existing between them that equates to some form of love. The VA performances are, as with those of Voices of a Distant Star, provided by the director and his wife, which I suppose adds to the sweetness of it.

Experiencing the narrative through the cat’s eyes is akin to that of a child’s: its unassuming simplicity lends a kind of purity and lack of prejudices. The events of the woman’s life are told from the standpoint of someone who is devoted to her but doesn’t judge her as a human being would - we don’t learn the exact nature of the phone calls she receives, but we certainly see how Chobi feels affection and concern for her; even to the point of affecting his relationship with a neighbouring cat, Mimi.

Although Mizu no Kotoba feels decidedly short its runtime is twice that of She and Her Cat, which is a tantalisingly brief five or so minutes. Not a great deal *happens* either: even the trademark Shinkai staples of sweeping vistas and loves separated by time and space are absent here, instead focusing on everday objects and cityscapes, with plenty of still shots and sparing use of movement. It’s completely in monochrome too, which equates to an unusual approach in animated film in which the visual side of things (the animation’s principal raison d’être in most cases) deliberately takes second place to the story.

It’s a triumph of beauty in simplicity really, because it’s almost as immersive as five minutes of his other works while being much plainer and abstract. Fortunately the endearing Chobi makes cameo appearances in his later movies but this is where we hear him tell his own tale - interestingly he is drawn in an especially simplistic way, which emphasises his straightforward view of the world while drawing attention to the detailed backgrounds that Shinkai would become so well-known for. Although it’s only a snapshot into two characters’ lives, it instills that ‘love for the world’ that they share.

[Filed under OAVs, Movies and Full Series]  [Tags: arthouse, Makoto Shinkai, Yasuhiro Yoshiura]

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