The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl

Super psychedelic romantic night in Kyoto Wonderland. But with the many, many nods to the Tatami Galaxy series, I would recommend that as mandatory viewing first to be in on all the jokes.

It's kind of a boy meets girl story, but so much more too. There is a series of fantastical scenes as characters journey thru the cities night spots. Often bizarre, but somehow very recognizable and... funny. For me, this film really captured the spirit of life in college. I kept remembering thoughts and feelings from those days and nights. It definitely has a Japanese feel to it too, which I really like but.. I understand that it may not be for everyone.

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.

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.)

Night Is Short, Walk On Girl tells the story of the many adventures a girl has during one night in Kyoto. What starts looking as a typical story about a young girl drinking in a bar, soon becomes a crazy roller coaster of unlikely events. It's impossible to get bored while watching the movie, as there is a constant feeling that virtually anything can happen: we see a drinking competition, a used book sale, a guerilla theatre performance, even some magic happens. The characters are all over the top, which suits the story perfectly. At the same time, the movie touches a number of important issues, such as love, loneliness, and greed.

The animation in the movie is just beautiful. It's colorful and very pleasant to the eye. It is perfect for this kind of story, with the more realistic parts animated more traditionally and the more absurdist parts looking pretty much like an acid trip. Watching the movie is a really interesting experience and I'm sure I won't forget it.