Fetish Doll

As someone with great interest in the nature of human sexuality and connection, especially in the form of 'abnormal' or fetishistic behaviour, an anime titled "Fetish Doll" under the "dementia" category will inevitably catch my eye.

There are two ways one might approach this four minute long acid trip of an animated short - the first is that of contempt and/or indifference, the second would make you sound like the most pretentious person ever to write an anime review. Either you will raise your eyebrows at it and move on, or you will think about it for 10 minutes, nod your head and shrug in acceptance ... and/or approval and move on. It's not a short that will change your life, but it's only 4 minutes long, so how much of a waste of time can it really be?

Basically, Fetish Doll is comprised of a bunch of hand-drawn depictions of body parts (mostly ears, hands, and, well, dicks), flowers and abstract shapes interacting with and morphing into one another. In my opinion, it essentially shows sex and fetishism as a means of communication in a pretty undramatic expository fashion, and what makes me think this is the inclusion of the ear as a symbol and the way it is interacted with for lack of a better phrase. Of course, anyone who watches this film, or anything for that matter, will inevitably project their own meaning onto what is occurring based on their personal perspective, and in this case it's more evident than in most since there is no narrative or evident purpose in what you're viewing. In my personal perspective, Fetish Doll makes me think of the concept of objectification and the way in which we give meaning/sensuality to the way in which we communicate with our bodies. There really isn't much you can say about the film without talking about yourself and your own perspective, and if that was deliberate, it might actually be a little ingenious.

Fetish Doll is one of those artsy, independent short animes that are meant to be thought-provoking and tend to get low ratings here on MAL. After all, they often don't have stories or characters as such. This is not the reason I've given this one a 5; I've quite enjoyed several such shorts, although I'll admit for the record that Keiichi Tanaami hasn't been a favorite.
As for this one, the sound is adequate. Didn't remember much about it between viewing a few days ago and now, so I ran it in the background as I typed this. It starts ... with a ping-y flute, and then pulls in other noises, some of which I could only describe as wet. The art seems hand-drawn, with translucent layers floating over moving background images.
None of that was a problem. Nor were the first five-seven seconds of the film. It opened with a field of slightly abstract dancing flowers in bright colors, making me think I was in for something like a Mirai Mizue film or one of Furukawa Taku's abstract shorts. Then things got weird. The bulk of the film can be summed up in three words: ghostly floating penises. Call me a prude, but it's not my cup of tea. Your mileage may vary.

Okay, as much as I love weird anime, WHAT THE LITERAL HELL IS THIS GARBAGE!? This "anime" if you would DARE call it so, is about colors flashing and f*&king weird-ass sounds playing at the same tame. And, for whatever reason, this is categorized as a "movie". A F*&KING MOVIE!? It isn't even 30 minutes long! Honestly, it would make more sense if it was an OVA.

The art can be explained like this: Imagine a preschooler, okay? Then imagine said preschooler taking out paint, mmkay? Then the preschooler takes the paint and DRINKS IT, RUNS AROUND IN CIRCLES UNTIL READY TO PUKE, PUKES THE STUFF ... ALL OVER HIS MOM'S FAVORITE DRESS, SHOES AND THE WALL. GRABS A VIDEO CAMERA, MAKES A SHITTY TITLE CARD THAT SAYS "Fetish Doll" AND THEN RECORDS HIMSELF SWIRLING THE PAINT ON THE WALLS AND DICKING AROUND WITH THE DRESS!!!!!

I rate "Fetish Doll" 1/10

Honestly, why do I even bother watching an anime named "Fetish Doll" and expect a half-decent experience?

-DJJazzyJeff