Reviews

I remember making note of this one after seeing it on some recommendation image. You know, those ones that have a bunch of anime posters on a black background with the names written under each one and then the title is on the top or bottom and says something like "So You Think All Anime Are the Same? Check These Out:". I don't, but I like avoiding the same things in general. Well that aside, the badass poster with its hot pink contrast to the flat grey over an edgy dystopian punk with small patterned dots and a fuzzy logo representing static feedback on top of the thing just being fucking called "Noiseman Sound Insect" was enough to sell me alone. If it didn't have that, then if I somehow took a look at the list of talent before watching that would've caught my attention instead. Several high profile names are involved, with the art and animation being handled by Masaki Yuasa and the sound design being handled by Yoko Kanno. Shigeru Watanabe and Kouji Morimoto are less prolific but have been involved with Akira, Memories, and The Animatrix. Goddamn.

Oh, but it's 15 minutes long. Put that much talent in such a restrained space and the result seems almost inevitable. Noiseman is a frantic action piece that literally does not stop for a breath, bursting to the seams with meticulously detailed stills of the tie-dye junk city and Yuasa's free-flowing animation style that breaks proportions and scale in the name of keeping kinetic energy. It's a technical marvel and the eye-candy becomes literal candy when paired with the general color scheme of bright reds, blues, and yellows. Oh right, the story or whatever. Some old scientist creates a monster that looks like a 5 year-old's drawing of Oogie Boogie that separates people into a ghost form and a crystal, and people are brainwashed into rounding up the ghosts for him or something and a few guys break free after eating magical fruit. I don't know, it's crazy and is just a nonsense excuse for nonsense visuals. If I had a complaint its that the aesthetic implied above by my description of the poster just isn't here. Music plays almost no narrative role which is disappointing considering Yoko Kanno's at the helm (and I'd never guess it was her by virtue of me not remembering any music from this after it finished). The Noiseman is the Oogie Boogie monster and the "music" is peoples' souls or whatever. The background score is a lot of nondescript fast percussion, drum patterns that are a very basic assault compared to the visuals. I was hoping for a bunch of screeching noise feedback and comparatively abrasive visuals that'd melt my brain like an egg on asphalt, but it's just a wacky fantasy ride that's still fairly distinct because it's Yuasa and how it's so technically accomplished, but nothing really shocking. Only the very beginning utilizes video static as a visual gimmick, so I don't know what kind of style it was going for.

For such a short running time its easily worth it to those going in for a visual trip. File under "definitive stoner anime" along with Trava. I'll probably never think of it again unless I'm asked to recommend anime with cool animation. Even then, it's been paired with heftier or more cohesive narratives. Fine stuff.