Ranked #3011

Tobira o Akete (1995)

Tobira o Akete or Open the Door is really about that--about opening the door to your deepest imaginations and fantasies.

The story follows a young girl on the brink of sleep, but the interplay of shadows on her wall and door of her room launches her off into another world, where she traverses and interacts with all her imaginings. It's a simple story, but it is presented in an almost complex, surrealist manner.

For something made back in 1995, this anime looks great. The animation is superb and scenes where the young girl is flying through her world of dreams look incredible and are well-animated. There's a great use of colour, and things are painted unusually and even look unusual. The art at some point even blends in what appear to be live-action shots of a forest, but it mixes so well with the animated part and actually adds to it, rather than just seem to be out of place.

As for the sound, it's pretty good. I do believe that there were classical pieces such as the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Blue Danube used somewhere in the anime. Such fanciful, playful compositions suited the anime well, and it brings across a certain light-heartedness to what easily could have been seen as a nightmare rather than a happy dream.

There wasn't much development on the young girl's part. We see as her she is, and she doesn't vastly change at the end of the anime. Except, notably, she seemed to be more open to new ideas and dreaming at the end. She starts off as a playful, a bit bratty but good-hearted kid, and ends that way.

Tobira o Akete is a pretty decent anime. You may or may not enjoy it depending on how much you like seeing abstract things or surrealism. It does master its art style and gives us some great animation, so it's worth a watch for those. read more