Ranked #1746

Egao

You know that two and a half minutes to spare that you have right before you go to bed? Or when you're waiting for your popcorn to finish popping in the microwave? Or even those two and half minutes you have while you decide whether you want to go with the blue or the green shirt because you can't figure out which looks better on you?

I have something to recommend you spend that time on.

Egao is a very short anime that plays out like a little music video. It follows the very simple, very cute story of a young woman and her pet hamster as she goes through her day to day life, heartbreak, and happiness in her small apartment where she lives alone. Now, if you are opposed to anime without any dialogue, then you probably won't enjoy Egao. There is no dialogue as the entire short is set to the backdrop of a song. The plot is simple, but it's sweet.

The art is beautiful. There is a wonderful use of lighting and colour. The environments are all gorgeous. From the city to the countryside--it all looks pretty. The animation is also very good. The scenes of the blue flames bursting forth on a gas stove, the hamster running, of the young woman taking a walk are all well-drawn. However, the character design may not appeal to everyone. There's a soft look to the characters' faces (the woman and the hamster) and it may look a little "gloopy" to some. If you like tight, clean lines and crisp character art, you may be a little disappointed in this area.

Sound may also be a topic of contention. It all really depends on whether you like the song used in the background. If poppy ballads aren't your favourite types of songs, then the music for Egao might not appeal to you.

Despite the shortness of the anime, the characters are interesting. The young woman appears to be a nice person who takes things as they come, and who is suffering from a broken heart. Yet, her optimism and cheerful demeanour shine through her heartache, and she goes on with life. You may not think the hamster is a character, but he or she is. It's a funny, sweet little thing and it is very supportive of its owner.

Egao is the type of anime you sit back and grin over its cuteness then sort of tugs at you when the more emotional aspect shows. I don't recommend it to people who like long, drawn-out anime with deep characters or a complex plot.

If you do however have those two and a half minutes, then by all means, take a look at Egao. read more

Again, another short from Shinkai Makoto.

First off this isn't really a proper "anime anime" really. It's actually simply a kind of music video for which the art was constructed by Shinkai-san :) . It's a very short special item so there isn't really much to review for it but it is a fairly entertaining item to simply add to your list.

Story: Well, it is basically as mentioned above and is about a women and her hamster.

Art and Sound: The music itself to which the anime is set is pretty decent. It to me sounds a bit like it could be an opening theme to a tv series of some sorts possibly. The art though is pretty gorgeous within the context of the style. Everything is nice and crisp and the hamster looks really cute (although strangely huge for a hamster).

Character: Not much to say, not really a 'character-based' anime since it's a music video but the they seem cute enough.

Overall: I would say if you've got 2 minutes spare or you fancy a complete collection on your anime list of Shinkai Makoto works then this is something certainly to watch. What have you got to lose? (Plus, it's probably taken the same amount of time to read this review as you would watching the anime :D) read more