Ranked #2916

Murder

Murder.
This straightforward name actually represents the plot of this outstanding anime very well - a Murder, and the struggle to find the culprit behind it. While the movie's art and idea are obviously old (and the movie itself is rather old, 1964, way before the big anime revolution in japan), it is as a matter of fact one of the best short animated movies in the history .
Well, you are probably wondering exactly what is so great about Murder. before I'll go on detail about each aspect, I want to state that this movie is actually a parody, that mocks the then-popular detective genere and the different popular stories that belong to this genere. It is also worth mentioning that this is the only anime ever produced by the multi-talanted artist Wada Makoto (known for his involvment in the game industry, Mario Kart DS for example is one of his works).

Story:
As I said, Murder is actually a parody, therefore the story is important. However, Murder simply explores the same story (A man was murdered) a few times, each time, a different detective is working to solve the case. While the parodies will probably appeal to older audience and people who has a larger knowledge in the western popular culture in the sixties, even younger viewers mighr enjoy the delight humour.
It should be noted though that one must not expect a great story. the movie is a parody, and therefore the story is very simple, and is not what the director wanted to show you, so I think rating it a 10 is acceptable.

Art:
Yes, I rated the Art 9.
You are probably looking at the picture and wondering what the hell is wrong with. It looks like a 5 years old boy drew this. And this is exactly my point - the Art is so childish and simple that it fits perfectly to the mood of the parody. While I personaly believe that the Art could have been better, I don't find anything faulty with using this brilliant, childish art; especially when the topic in hand is as serious as murder.

Sound:
The art is what you would expect it to be: simple and matched to the parody in hand. For example, in the film-noir parody, there is a film-noir sound. There is no voice-acting in this movie.
The other sound effects (screaming, walking, etc.) is good enough and is exactly what I would expect it to be.

Character:
I really don't have anything to say here, as the focus is on the parodies and not on the characters. I rated it a 9 and not a 10 because a little character development could be nice, but really, It is not the point.

Enjoyment:
As you can see, I really enjoyed Murder. In my opinion, it is one of the best short-movies ever produced, and I would watch it again for sure. Make sure when you watch to try to link each section in the movie to your previous popular culture knowledge, so you would be able to recognize all the parodies. read more