Masaaki Yuasa

I just got home from a visit to my local AMC Multiplex where I saw Mr. Yuasa's new animated feature "The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl".

If you're a regular reader of Scribble Junkies, you know what a big fan I am of Masaaki and his feature film "Mind Game". I first saw it about 10 years ago and it blew my mind.  This is what an animated film should be - I called it "the Citizen Kane of animation".  It was so imaginative, surreal, crazy and yet the drawings were so great.  None of that Japanese animé crap, but really original artwork and ideas.

However, I can't say the same for his new film.  Maybe he's taking on too many projects since he's become famous, and his creative juices have run out.  But "The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl" is as bland as you typical animé.  The characters are badly designed and they move very awkwardly.  The humor is clichéd (althought the mostly Japanese audience I saw it with laughed).  There are maybe a couple of really funny sequences, but the narrative is a jumble of short stories that don't really build to an emotional finale. 

I heard that he made another feature film around the same time.  I might recommend that he stick to one feature film at a time, and make that film something unique. 

I give "The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl" a C-. 

--Bill P.

Me with Masaaki Yuasa at the Annecy Festival, June 2018