Wasurenagumo Episode 1 Discussion

What did you think of this episode?

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Feb 24, 2019 9:39 AM

#101

rahillimitci

Offline

Feb 2015

545

Burst out laughing at the twist, definitely wasn't expecting it.

Was good. Them roaming in the mansion actually felt uneasy, as it should be. The bookseller's creature at the end looked like a slime or something.

Mar 21, 2020 12:25 AM

#102

removed-user

Offline

Jul 2018

564491

I think the only reason I watched this is because I was looking for obscure and unseen media -- a hidden gem, if you will -- and so I found myself paging through the MAL anime list ordered from most popular to least popular and was deep under the waves when I actually stumbled upon this.

I looked into it and apparently this was made with the purpose of TRAINING "young" animators! So that's what was constantly on my mind while watching this. A bunch of young, new Japanese animators were attempting to get their feet wet in the industry and embark/debut on their careers. This was one of four 2011 pieces entered into some kind of organization. Whatever the case, no WONDER this work is so obscure (on MAL and to the world) -- it's an indie project, again, with the purpose of helping animators hone their skills.

That being said, it looks as if it were produced and animated by a professional studio. The movements of the characters, specifically, are so fluid -- far better than many other animes/studios.

I was shocked by how fluid the short-haired girl's movements were as she stumbled through the abandoned structure. It almost looked rotoscoped. Seriously impressive stuff. As the "book nerd" and "short haired girl" moved throughout the film -- hiking through the mountains or even just crouching around the bookstore -- I was just so intrigued at their movements and proportional character designs. Well done. (Maybe because the amount of characters in this film was limited.)

The backgrounds and settings were also vivid and detailed, too. Everything that was drawn was good, really.

==========

As for the plot? Eh. I don't really get any of it. I definitely don't know the purpose of this film. Everything seemed pretty straightforward... however, the second they encountered the abandoned village (from the opening credits) things kinda went south and strayed into oblivion. I lost trace of the plot completely there.

From the monster spider at the beginning to the monster spider at the end, in the pond, to the "mother" the spider turned out to be -- seemingly part human ..........

.......... to the small spider girl that the "book nerd" to a liking to .......... to the regular-sized girl with long black hair that seldom appeared in the film .......... to the short-black-haired, red-eyed girl at the end. Are these three all supposed to be the same character?

And, what... so the spider girl is ultimately capable of brainwashing people? Is that what it did to the samurai at the beginning of the film? How did it end up trapped in the book?

The other forum posts and reviews all mention the shocking ending that kinda leaves you thinking. I can definitely see why. Frankly, I don't even care anymore. I don't give a sh*t about the plot, or how much of an ignoramus I may be for not seeing any of the "deeper meaning" that might've been intended. It wasn't even a full-fledged movie (as it's labeled on MAL and other places) ... just a half-an-hour rookie project. I don't need to stress out over something that has consumed less than 30 minutes of my life.

And, so, because of the strange plot of this movie (and somewhat nonexistent, as some reviews state), I have to deduct some points. Nevertheless, the animation, setting, VA-ing, music, blah blah blah was all fine, and quite appealing at that. I'm satisfied to be one of the few people on this planet to have experienced something like this. That supposedly has depth to it -- both metaphorically and metaphysically as: while the movie itself is the tip of an iceberg, the rest of the iceberg would be dozens of young animators spending (probably) an entire year culminating their efforts into this unique product. I'm content. 6.5/10.

==========

P.S. While the beginning of the movie had its "comedic" moments (if that's what you want to call it) .......... and while the ending of the movie had its "deeper" and "solemn" moments .......... I really want to give this short film a shoutout for the drawn out scene of the "short haired chick" stumbling around through the abandoned structure while looking for the "book nerd". That was gorgeously animated ... the rotoscope-esque movements of the girl, those complex angles and perspectives (e.g. showcasing the dilapidated ceiling), to the music ... all the factors here made it truly eerie. I didn't know if the spider girl would pop out at any moment and jumpscare the viewer. I was especially unnerved after watching a bunch of "Chills" YouTube compilations. Not to mention it's 3 AM. But, yeah, that scene specially was gorgeously executed and was my personal favorite moment of the film. Very unnerving and very atmospheric.

Apr 8, 2020 8:38 AM

#103

LastLuminescence

Offline

May 2016

2906

I never understood why the girl didn't leave if she was scared. Damn that call me off guard I forgot spiders represent evil.

Jul 5, 2020 2:54 PM

#104

Hanazada

Offline

Apr 2018

Woah! that ending tho
so the spider mum wanted her daughter back but the lil spider girl gave her mizuri instead so she can stay with the man
SPIDER GIRL IS EVILLL

Rin Asogi
(RIN: Daughters of Mnemosyne)

Dec 7, 2020 7:21 PM

#105

Nickolias

Offline

Jun 2016

That's one for my "cute but I'll only remember for the twist ending" list.

It's not too often you get a bad ending in a story. It was cool. Despite being set up for a while, the twist ending kinda doesn't feel predictable enough. The rest of the anime was pretty good.

Dec 14, 2020 3:41 PM

#106

St0rmblade

Offline

Aug 2017

2985

That "Guugle" surely wasn't very helpful in finding the way

So why didn't that onmyouji just finish the spider queen off? Was he enchanted?

Anyway, nice short. Fluid animation at times, especially running, it almost looked rotoscoped (maybe it was?). Those weird perspectives in the haunted house showed its...weirdness, I guess. Though watching it at a dark time was not the best choice.
I guess the ED implied that Mizuki was indeed gone, and the new Mizuki was a shapeshifted spider, not just Mizuki-but-with-spider-eyes. I wonder what yokai was Geppou-san living with. Everyone has their secrets, huh.
Don't get the hate for the ending, I liked that twist.

There's a funny storyboard of Mizuki in full length, and a picture of Geppou-san's yokai!
https://www.production-ig.co.jp/works/wasurenagumo/special

P.S. At least my yokai knowledge book is expanding
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jor%C5%8Dgumo

P.P.S. According to ANN, this short's director was one of the people behind the absolutely terrible FLCL Progressive, and according to MAL, he's "chief animation director" on all of the upcoming Gainax movies about Emeraldas...how am I supposed to feel about that?

-----------------------------------

Rei_III said:

@St0rmblade Oh my... he worked on the bad "New Furi Kuri" (interesting to hear an episode was even worse than the others). Don't feel it, try to understand (to paraphrase Mélanie Laurent) : those films will NEVER happen. Just like Aoki Uru and Gunbuster the 3rd or anything else Gainax really. Even with their stealing operation thanks to their filials, I doubt they will be ever able to stand again on their feet enough to produce something.

From memories, I thought the spider was back at the end, and the heroine was dead or something. Did I mixed things up?

You remember the ending correctly.

I didn't try to rank the episodes from the worst to...the more worst? xD They were all bad enough.

Don't take away my hope for the films ;_; Though my gut feeling tells me you're correct, the website for the films has no details at all...Maybe they'll suffer the same fate as Satoshi Kon's Dreaming Machine, stuck in production hell halfway (or 1/3rd way or whatever) through, waiting for somebody else to finish them...despair

St0rmbladeDec 17, 2020 5:22 PM

Dec 17, 2020 1:56 PM

#107

Rei_III

Offline

Dec 2015

6448

Score: 7/10
Enjoyment: 5/5

@St0rmblade Oh my... he worked on the bad "New Furi Kuri" (interesting to hear an episode was even worse than the others). Don't feel it, try to understand (to paraphrase Mélanie Laurent) : those films will NEVER happen. Just like Aoki Uru and Gunbuster the 3rd or anything else Gainax really. Even with their stealing operation thanks to their filials, I doubt they will be ever able to stand again on their feet enough to produce something.

From memories, I thought the spider was back at the end, and the heroine was dead or something. Did I mixed things up?

PS: expand your yôkai encyclopedia, watch Blue Seed. (and discover the origin of all Yôkai at the same occasion.)

Rei_IIIDec 17, 2020 1:59 PM

About Gundam

Jan 10, 2021 4:00 AM

#108

Verty_

Offline

Jan 2011

342

Now that another spider show is airing. Had to watch this!
I liked it. And good riddance to the jealous bitch.

Feb 2, 2022 7:12 AM

#109

Memore

Offline

Feb 2021

6989

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L55vuOLjzfw

Aug 28, 2022 11:53 PM

#110

Queenbugmom

Offline

Aug 2022

Killed a random girl for shock value.

Dec 20, 2022 8:57 PM

#111

DazeFire

Offline

Apr 2014

1224

i ended up seeing like a short video of this and saw the cute spider girl

and so i had to find out what it was and watched it just now and i gotta say i enjoyed it

spider girl was cute all through out the little movie

and the ending and what happened to the other girl was well lol

anyway looks like the shop keeper guy also has a monster girl of his own so looks like things turned out in a similar way for him also

but yeah Spider girl is cute

"one step at a time"

Jul 3, 2023 1:21 AM

#112

Saiaku27

Offline

Aug 2018

139

What the fuck did i just watch xDDDDD

Jul 12, 2023 7:48 PM

#113

PxHC