It's yet another weird product from Studio 4C, which won't disappoint you if you've been watching them all so far :)
This is *again* another anthology of short videos stuck together to try and make them saleable/viewable, because as standalone products I don't think they would go very far. It's difficult to rate all aspects for each videos, but here are my thoughts about each of them:
1- Keikaku (2 min)
This one is like a preview of some samurai flick. It really feels like it's an old mute movie because of the huge characters shown on screen and the thick, harsh pencil lines. The originality mostly lies in the credits mimicking the movements a samurai would do with his katana. There are a lot of traditional Japanese elements (noh masks, etc.) but you'll get nothing whatsoever about the story except there will be battles. I liked the rock/beat music of this one a lot.
2- Chicken Insurance (3 min)
The most hilarious of this lot, where an old chicken tries to sell life insurance to little mute chicks by telling them a story. The animation has a funny texture that feels like an animated comic book drawn with fine lines and a lot of details. The hip hop BGM is quite funny and well suited for this story.
3- Kin Jin kitto (30 sec)
The shortest video. It really feels like a preview of something else (which it probably is anyways). This looks like a dystopia/sci-fi world, but we have absolutely no clue about the story. The CGI effects are actually OK even though the human characters still contrast a lot compared to them. BGM is a mechanized beat that makes you feel the pressure of the main character. As a side note, I think Kin Jin should actually be Toujin ("ceramic person").
4- In the Evening of A Moonlit Night (4.5 min)
This one has a kinda bad and unfinished animation that is strangely colored (it makes you feel at night though), but a good song to which the mute characters even seem to sing all the way through. This video is the one with the most story although it takes a lot of imagination to understand all the imagery (especially the disturbing toe-licking scene of the young kid who's chained down).
5- Table and Fishman (5.5 min)
This story is very, very weird until the end, where you get the joke of it all. There are quite interesting, if strange characters (a female table that talks and walks around, and of course, the fishman), but they lack something to make the story more understandable. This one is all CGI this time, which are OK, and there is a nice techno song at the end that fits the theme of the story. Be warned about this one though, there's probably some alcohol/drugs involved in the making...
6- Aerial Bar (4.5 min)
... and speaking of alcohol, welcome to the strangest short video of them all. The characters are objects with computerized faces of real humans (I'm still scared!). We see most of the scenes from a wine glass' point of view (all red) and many flashes that would remind you of the moments you were most drunk (if you remember them at all) This one is going nowhere though, it's just a strange peek into the strangest thoughts of all... The last song is weird, almost scary, but I liked it.
Overall, I'd give the most points to music. All the BGM are fun, good, well matched to their respective videos. The animation is probably next in line, although we hardly get any masterpieces and work of art in this department. I recognize the non-mainstream, trials of the directors here, but it's hardly something that could please the whole lot of you out there.
Characters and stories are what make people give low ratings to this one. It's another weird anthology that lacks a main theme except for it's "demential" topics.
I'd stay far from this one if I'd describe myself as the average anime fan. :)
Explanation by 0ndrej on Thursday, 17.06.2010 18:06