Fuujin Monogatari

Nao, an 8th grader, is one of the only two members of a Digital Camera Club, where she also serves as the manager. It's a mystery that she shoots nothing else but the skies and clouds. One day, she finds a cat on a rooftop where she usually shoots her camera. It's a cat that knows how to manipulate the flow of a wind. Shocked to find a strange animal, Nao loses her footing and falls off from the rooftop!

Miki is the other member of the club, and also Nao's best friend. Mr. Taiki is the teacher who's taught the cat how to manipulate the flow of a wind. Ryoko is a girl who has a huge crush on Mr. Taiki. And there's Jun, who helps Nao and Miki look for a cat that can fly. Then, there's Yukio, who is the widow of Mr. Taiki's deceased brother.

On the outskirts of this big city, a town off the "Wind Handlers," has been formed—and a mysterious Wind Festival is about to begin...

(Source: Production I.G)

Ueshima, Nao Main

Nazuka, Kaori Japanese

Kataoka, Miki Main

Hanamura, Satomi Japanese

Nomura, Jun Main

Irino, Miyu Japanese

The Wind Cat Supporting

Yoshino, Ryouko Supporting

Iwamura, Aiko Japanese

Makino-sensei Supporting

Nakamura, Akio Japanese

Karin Supporting

Noto, Mamiko Japanese

Yukio Supporting

Mizuno, Risa Japanese

Mr. Taiki Supporting

Sugiyama, Ooki Japanese

Atsuko Supporting

Ogasawara, Arisa Japanese

Oshii, Mamoru Producer

Tanaka, Shinsaku Producer

Ogisu, Hirotsugu Producer

Nishimura, Junji Director, Episode Director, Script, Storyboard

Reviews

Oct 25, 2024

Quaggy

Recommended

If I were to give a basic synopsis of Windy Tales, I'd describe it as a simple down to earth slice of life story about maturing, photography, and the wind. All of this culminates in a uniquely ephemeral and dreamlike feeling. Often a feeling as if a strong gust of wind could sweep you off your feet and whisk you far into the sky. This strange and specific atmosphere conjures such a rare emotion I don't often feel that is hard to pin down. Windy Tales puts the viewer in a melancholic trance and leaves you with a certain warm fuzzy feeling in the end, ... not unlike a lot of other SoL anime, simply much more subdued and grounded.

Additionally, there is much more complexity underneath the feeling of nothing of note happening. This complexity is executed in a quite realistic way with lots of subtle messaging about life, philosophy, and our interpersonal relationships with each other as well as the world. The story beacons you to think deeply about these themes and try to understand them which I quite like!

On another note, the characters are very simple but enjoyable. They are not flashy in the slightest, some may even call them boring, but I found myself relating to their experiences. Seeing them slowly mature and progress feels so real and I think they're simply enjoyable characters. They are much more subdued than your average anime fair, but if you look into their psyche there is quite a bit to explore! There are lotsa sweet scenes between the main cast and they have a rather enjoyable dynamic.

The thing that most captivates me about this anime is it's extremely unique art style! Everything about its very airy, loose and heavily stylized look works well for the series and is simply immensely appealing to me personally. A keystone of this show's art is very exaggerated body shapes and facial expressions while staying subdued and grounded in reality. Its quite fascinating and the abstract nature of this show's art really adds to the whimsical and dreamlike tone the story is going for! The art can be quite experimental and the general light and airy feel of the art really enhances the wind theme.

In tandem with the art is the animation, which really impressed me with its attention to detail when it comes to wind. As the name suggests, an immense focus is placed on wind within this show and the animation reflects that heavily. A banner flapping, a girls skirt fluttering in the wind, a person's hair flying every witch way, a cat's fur being pushed back as it flies through the air, even the air itself being depicted with colorful flowing lines, so much observation and thought is put into how the wind interacts with the world. The details are subtle but they radiate a great awareness and love of the wind which both fits the show well and accentuated the experience! Outside of the wind, the rest of the show is animated perfectly okay. I especially like a lot of the character animation! Though some scenes, especially the more artsy and avaunt garde, I find simply beautiful. You can tell there wasn't a huge budget for this show but they allocated those resources where it really mattered and it payed off! All of this combined with occasionally very unique direction makes me appreciate the animation more and more.

In conclusion, Windy Tales is a fairly mundane anime with likeable characters, realistic writing, and a super unique vibe with interesting and well done art to go along with it! Its a shame I couldn't find the show in higher than 480p xD. Its obscure and seems hard to find physically, but Windy Tales is Definitely worth a watch if you like artsy, philosophical leaning SoL stuff like me!

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Jan 13, 2024

itsrainingblood

Recommended

"Fujin Monogatari" stands as an epitome of artistic brilliance within the realm of anime, captivating audiences through its unparalleled animation style and gripping storyline. Effortlessly transcending the boundaries of conventional narratives, this masterpiece defies description, leaving one in awe of its multifaceted allure.
At the core of "Fuujin Monogatari" lies an animation style that can only be characterized as a visual symphony. Each frame is meticulously crafted, elevating the art form to new heights. The vibrant palette and dynamic character designs seamlessly merge with fluid movements, creating an immersive experience that transcends the boundaries of traditional animation. The visual storytelling in "Fuujin Monogatari" becomes a language ... of its own, conveying emotions and nuances beyond the capacity of mere words.

Equally remarkable is the narrative tapestry woven within the series. A tale of profound depth and intricacy, "Fuujin Monogatari" invites viewers into a realm where the conventional boundaries of storytelling are shattered. The characters, each with a unique depth, evolve through a narrative that is as unpredictable as it is captivating. Themes of resilience, self-discovery, and the human condition are explored with a finesse that resonates on a universal scale.
The allure of "Fuujin Monogatari" lies not only in its technical prowess but in its ability to evoke a visceral response from its audience. The indescribable joy and fascination experienced while immersed in this anime underscore its exceptional nature. It becomes a testament to the transformative power of animation, transcending the limitations of language to connect with a global audience on a profound level.

In conclusion,"Fuujin Monogatari" emerges as a beacon of excellence in the anime landscape. Its unique animation style and compelling narrative redefine the boundaries of the medium, offering an experience that transcends the limitations of verbal expression.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Feb 5, 2015

NavyCherub

Mixed Feelings

Slice of life as a genre has a small problem. By itself, there is not much to base an entire show on – there has to be some sort of focus, a setting or concept that allows for individual stories to exist while also providing a solid base that pulls all of the ideas together. Fuujin Monogatari takes its identity as an episodic slice of life show to heart, almost to a fault – the individual episodes contain themes and ideas that are usually interesting and sometimes even compelling, but there is just about no connection between episodes thematically. The consequence to this is that ... Fuujin Monogatari is a show of widely varying quality.

Not to say that there is not a string tying the show together, loosely at least. That string is the titular wind, which the main characters (among others) can control at will, for some reason. This seems like it might be an important mechanic that would set Fuujin Monogatari apart from similar shows, such as having the main characters using the wind powers in otherwise normal situations to make them more interesting. In execution it is actually not so. Instead, the show offers a low key usage of the wind powers, mostly used for interesting visual effects while the story and the characters take breathing time. This is also useful for the viewer, as this downtime provides a relaxing section of an episode where one can reflect on the events that have occurred; on the other hand, these scenes could be replaced by just about any sort of relaxing or visually interesting scene, making the wind mechanic seem like little more than a gimmick in the end. A very pretty gimmick.

The art in the show is a juxtaposition of purposefully rough character designs and almost impressionist background art, which works to a good effect and is most definitely the strongest part of the production. The minimalist design of the characters allows for exaggerated yet meaningful motions and facial expressions, and they also give the characters a definitively “Asian” look. There is not much detail in their designs; luckily, the show avoids characters looking too similar to each other by keeping the cast small, though in darker scenes where you can't see the color of their hair they look a little too similar. The backgrounds, though, are consistently beautiful. It's almost a shame that Nao is so obsessed with taking pictures of clouds, because the world of Fuujin Monogatari is lovely and detailed, contrasting in many ways the simple character designs – though they both share the sketchy, purposefully rushed-appearing aesthetic, keeping the overall feel of the show internally consistent, despite the huge difference in detail.

There are also some cool visual ideas used sparingly in the show - portraying texts with handwritten-looking colored text on the screen, or a phone call by overlaying the characters onto each others' settings, or flashbacks and dreams indicated with characters filled in with a single color. On one hand I appreciate that it did not abuse these things, but on the other they feel a bit wasted, sometimes only being used once in the whole run.

Similarly, the soundtrack and voice acting are lovely but subdued. This is a good thing – the sound is never overbearing, but is consistently supportive of the atmosphere that Fuujin Monogatari naturally builds. Voice acting is done in a subtle way, never overacting but also hardly ever relaying strong emotion, even when a scene calls for it, which is unfortunate.

However, the most hit and miss aspect of the entire production is the writing. As I stated before, there is little consistency when it comes to theme. Supporting others, avoiding responsibility, and finding your worth are all examples of ideas that Fuujin Monogatari plays with, but none is given a decent amount of time before the next comes along to take its place. In this sense, Fuujin Monogatari tries to live up to its main character Nao's goal as stated in the very first scene – to capture the wind. Like the wind, Fuujin Monogatari moves and changes as it pleases. Consequentially, not all episodes are created equal. There are a handful of absolutely amazing, perfectly executed episodes, and it is not a coincidence that these episodes tend to make good use of the interesting visual style matched with an equally simple concept as well as Nao as a competent narrator, but there are many more flops, usually too self-indulgent to come off as meaningful.

The episode about trying to get a perfect picture of a runner, for example, manages to use Fuujin Monogatari's strengths to much better effect than an episode about helping a momonga learn to fly, even though the latter has much more to do with the show's distinguishing idea. I should also point out an episode that takes place almost entirely in the nurse's office, featuring a fever dream contrasted by a completely normal conversation which utilizes Fuujin Monogatari's visual style to an extent never matched again.

If only every episode was as simple and effective as that one, this show would be an instant classic. As it stands, though, it is a compilation of mostly uninspired stories interspersed with small moments of genius. If you are a fan of the slice of life genre, you will definitely find plenty to like in this show, but people less patient with the trappings of the genre will frequently have their patience tested.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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