Ranked #1408

Out of Sight

When you watch anime, every now and then you know that what you have seen has made an impact on you. Sometimes, you know that, if only by a little, the painstaking labour involved in the work you are watching has made you grow as an anime fan.

When you watch Out of Sight, you need only five minutes to experience such feelings.

At the beginning, we are presented with the story of a girl walking down the street. Soon, the actual subject of the anime is set up: what would happen if said girl had her bag stolen, and her dog, looking on its own for the bag, was nowhere to be found? First and foremost, what would happen if the young lady was blind?

As might reveal the title, Out of Sight is the depiction of a blind child's wandering through the streets. However, this anime isn't a dramatic one, but rather a vivid, carefree and ultimately heartwarming rendition of the protagonist's life. In fact, the anime does depict the difficulties of being blind: this status makes the main character at the mercy of unscrupulous persons; and obviously, moving along the streets is shown not to be such an easy feat, as one is bound to eventually bump into obstacles such as trees.

But these hardships are never dramatised, and what remains of the five-minute experience is clearly not a sentimental piece of film; rather, Out of Sight is a wholly cheerful anime, full of hope, which isn't what one would expect of such a theme. Interacting with her environment is, in fact, an enchanting experience for both the little girl and the audience.

The first reason for this is that depriving the character from her sight allows for a clever and profound use of the other senses. The most exploited sense is unsurprisingly the touch, ingeniously associated with the hearing, by making the protagonist guess her surroundings by the sound they make when hit by her wooden stick. Smell also plays a role several times in the story; it is highly entertaining to see the character interpreting her environment, at times aright, at times fancifully.

More so fancifully than aright, which is what the anime gradually accentuates as the amount of sensory information increases, making the character's interpretation inevitably imprecise. As our protagonist becomes aware of the entire city, the depiction of said city becomes more extravagant, ending up downright inconceivable; the result of this is a masterful climax - an impressive achievement in a five-minute film.

This fanciful rendition of the setting wouldn't be so charming if the animation of this title wasn't so resourceful. Without being implausible, the atmosphere is purposely colourful, much more than the few scenes depicting the city as it actually is. The way the surroundings gradually appear or change as the protagonist discover them is also dynamic and aesthetically fascinating. In itself, the art is beautiful and appropriate as well; the character design is simplistic as per the simple narrative and basic characterisation involved, which is the most fitting choice for a short film. Although some shots come across as slightly flat, the city is nearly three-dimensional and the drawings, albeit simple, are magnified by the palette used.

The same praises can be made to the music, which beautifully emphasised the aforementioned climax of the story by being exactly as powerful as the shot it accompanies is meant to be. As expected of such a short film, the different pieces used are consistent, using an overall cohesive, catchy tune throughout the story.

This anime is only five-minute long, but it makes the most out of its allocated time, becoming in the end surprisingly meaningful. A definite recommendation, as even the more stubborn viewers will not fail to see (or sense) why Out of Sight is a remarkable anime. read more