Shashinkan

This beautifully poetic short is nothing less than a masterpiece.

The whole animation has an elegantly layered evolution to it. The story is delivered in several segments, or snapshots, where we watch as a photographer struggles to bring the smile out of a young child. Photography plays a major role in this anime.

The whole movie is void of any speech or talking. There are sublet background noises such as moans, laughs, and ones of nature. But this is all layered over with a classical soundtrack which if anything compliments the piece.

The styling reminds of the Professor Layton Games, especially with the coloring. As we are presented ... with a new snapshot, the time frame skips forwards a few years and we watch as the child grows up. The layering comes into play here as well. For instance, as the family descends the stairs to the photographers home, the landscape of neighboring houses is layered on top.

The setting was placed during the first world war, though that was more layered to the background. If you were to see family photos from that time, you'd have hinted that war was taking place but there would be nothing overwhelming nor obvious as to how bad it was. This is nothing short of genius as overall, the whole story is presented to us as a family album. If you were to flick through one of your parent's albums, you'd see years skip by before your eyes. You'll see a story play out as how family members come and go. This whole concept was clearly taken into consideration and folded into this nice little 16 minute short.

As it is short, it is well worth the watch and the story itself is heartwarming, to say the least. So if you have a few minutes to spare, if you need to take a little break. I suggest this is a nice way to do it.

I have never been this moved in 15 minutes. "Shashinkan" has a very powerful appeal to emotion, and all aspects of the piece gracefully came together in order to achieve this. Its visual and auditory harmony was so strong, it allows the viewer to fully immerse oneself in an enchanting soft-toned story about a passionate photographer and his loyal clients.

As a film that is bereft of dialogue, its music was an important narration device. The story's mood is guided through friendly arpeggios, seamless key changes, and befitting subtle dynamics. Using only a piano, the piece stays true to its semi-minimalist nature. This adds on to ... the beautiful, and sincere tone that "Shashinkan" exhibits.

Its visual expression is very unique and stylistic. The characters have a simple and soft color pallette, and is contrasted by the detailed background, complimented with gorgeous patterns. All the colors are very harmonious, and creates a strong sense of 'togetherness' as a piece. The character design is very charming, and allows the viewer to empathize with them. I noticed myself smiling and tearing up while watching this short film.

I highly recommend "Shashinkan" for sentimental viewers that enjoy visually pleasing short films.

Shashinkan was a 16 minute short I found while browsing YouTube and at first, I was a bit opposed to it because the art style unnerved me. But as I went on, I unearthed the true essence of this short. And while I can appreciate both its narrative and overall storytelling, I can't praise it too much.

For starters, the run time is by far the weakest aspect of this video, everything that happens besides when the young girl is getting a picture goes by so quickly and unmentioned that it simply becomes a faint afterthought. The beginning scene, her mother almost has no place ... in the story until the very end where they use her portrait to steer you in some emotional way.

Same thing with the husband in the military who has no actual standing in providing substance to the plot until they decide to throw in sub-themes of war and loss. I understand the sub-themes are a way of progressing the morale of the picture and I can appreciate it but a lot of the oomph is removed when much of the emotional investment depended upon characters who I was never invested in.

And no, I'm not some robot who didn't take anything away from the short just because of these inconveniences. I couldn't stop a smile from creeping up my face as I watched the final scene because I, in that moment had a sense of relatability. Just like her, perhaps I should smile more, and in general just see the better parts of life. As their town is getting urbanized and less people visit the store, a subtle detail I enjoyed, they are still able to smile after going through what they have gone through.

A powerful and emotional message to be sure, but one that is so barely fleshed out that I really only found myself feeling anything at the climax.



I'm feeling a decent 5 on this one.