Ranked #1275

Aru Tabibito no Nikki

Oh my, what and incredible work of art we have here.

Diary of Tortov Roddle is really something unique, I enjoyed it very much.
It's like watching a moving panting, like running through a museum while beautiful music is being played all over the place.

It really doesn't has a plot, It's just Tortov Roddle traveling and showing us places. But oh, what kind of places.
They are so magical, with a great amount of surrealism, artistic, unique.
It leaves you wanting more. Always wanting to know what other kind of places he will visit. Places just beyond our imagination.

The art is really simple, original,different. That's what makes it so beautiful. For me is perfect.
You feel like you're watching a painter working. And you're transported into the painting.

The music is so relaxing, perfect for this piece of art. And is a well a piece of art. A great job of Kenji Kondo.
I can almost imagine the instruments coming into scene while watching this.
And I wouldn't be surprised if that happened ^^.

The characters well let's see... have you ever seen a pig with legs thinner than a horse's?. Here you can see it. And you will love it.
Tortov reminded me a little of Don Quijote. Thin and tall, using a hat too.
(Maybe the pig is Rocinante.)
And the things that Tortov writes on his diary gives us a more magical and pretty perspective. I love how he sees everything.

I almost forgot about the bunny men! They are awesome.
There's the lady of the flower hat too.
And a big bear who proyects cartoons on his back ^^.

I highly recommend this. I know it's not popular, but only people who are imaginative and can open their minds to appreciate different and beautiful things and don't call everything new ''weird'' can really enjoy this.
And if you're not one of those persons, try to see it anyways, it's worth it.

The best way of watching this?. Relaxing drinking a cup of tea :] read more

This is an exercise in animation by Katou Kunio more than anything, training perhaps for his next work "La Maison en Petits Cubes" which I liked a lot more. "The Diary Of Tortov Roddle" is by no means just a sketch of an animation or something done half-heartedly, however... nothing about it is particularly impressive and it isn't complex enough to be more than a passing experience. You might watch it once, but there's not a lot in it that would make you come back and watch it again.

It's pretty much a series of two or three minute long shorts which you can watch in any particular order, specials included. The story and the characters are as bare bones as they can be while still remaining remotely interesting, and they're there more as an excuse to put some images and music together and create an animation. We follow Tortov Roddle on his journey through a dream-like world and observe how he experiences or recollects various surreal events... But surprisingly, this world and these events aren't that imaginative.

All the clips from the main series and one of the specials (the "Red Berries" episode) follow the same pattern. Using written exposition (there is no spoken dialogue here) we are informed about Tortov, his journey, and thoughts he has about various things or happenings he will stumble upon. Most of these things are the domain of the mundane with a touch of the fantastical, like for example, an evening at a cafe where Tortov finds out that there are fish in his cup of tea, or a night spent out in the open where Tortov will meet anthropomorphic rabbits that travel to the moon in a train cart. As I said - surreal but not that imaginative.

All this isn't aided by the animation that much. Like with "La Maison en Petits Cubes" the animation style is not much different from what you'd find in a children's illustrated story book. Tortov's world is a little too simple however, and just like it isn't that interesting or unique in an ideate sense, it isn't that interesting visually either. The musical score is a lot better than the animation however, and it is the music that usually kept me watching every clip till the end. There are a couple of very beautiful melodies in the series that work really well at creating the appropriate atmosphere for watching this.

I mentioned the "specials" included with this series' release. Only one of them is actually related to "The Diary Of Tortov Roddle", the other two - "The Apple Incident" and "Fantasy" - are Katou's earlier works and they're not that impressive either, even less so than Tortov. "Fantasy" in particular is a rather bland collection of 5 half-minute long musical clips involving a young woman; these really are sketches - treats from the auteur's notebook. I'd say all three works are worth watching only if you like "La Maison en Petits Cubes" a lot and you're interested to see more from the same creator. read more