Katasumi no Uroko

Katasumi no Uroko is a lovely little story about fond childhood memories and how a special person can make a big impact on a young, curious mind. Although the English title may not be the most catchy and the synopsis can leave one slightly confused, I'd say this short film is worth taking a chance on. Why? I'll try to sum up its highlights without spoiling the plot.

First of all, this anime short is beautifully drawn. The images look like soft pencil sketches filled sparingly with watercolour in certain places. The muted colour scheme of mostly beige, grey, peach and teal with spots of turquoise enhances the nostalgic feeling you get from watching the film. The art style certainly makes it seem quite raw and homemade, but still cohesive and well-made as the style compliments the story. The result is nostalgic in a nice, tranquil sort of way.

The story of Katasumi no Uroko is simple yet heartwarming. Without spoilers I can say that the themes explored here are childhood, memories, growing up and growing old. Themes that should be relatable to many viewers - but I suspect they are more likely to stir the feelings of slightly older viewers than those of the very young.

The score is classical and orchestral, with violins, flutes, piano and the like, and this surprised me. I found it impressive that such a short, simple film was complimented by a charming, complex score that suits it really well. No composers are credited here on MAL and since I cannot read Japanese, I don't know where the soundtrack came from nor who the seiyuus are. What I can say is I really enjoyed their performances - at the very least I've seen plenty of anime with much worse voice acting than what's delivered here. The museum director's seiyuu fits his character perfectly, with a warm and reassuring voice, and the young girl is voiced by an actual child, and I just love it when that's the case. It's a rare occurrence in the world of anime which brings with it a feeling of authenticity.

Let's be honest though - Katasumi no Uroko is no masterpiece. At 9 minutes long it can only do so much, but personally I'm glad it didn't attempt to overreach. It's best enjoyed as the simple short film that it is. My only gripes would be with the editing of certain shots that came off as a bit unfortunate and the fact that the pacing is off in the beginning, the camera dwelling on shots to a degree that you're wondering if you've accidentally paused the video. So don't go in expecting too much, especially in the areas of animation and character development.

Viewers will probably find that Katasumi no Uroko is different from typical anime as it's not the work of an established studio or creator but the graduation project of its director, Megumi Ishitani, and therefore is more on the "artsy" side. I haven't been able to find any information on who created the art and animation, or if all of it is indeed the work of Ishitani herself. Her professor at the department of Animation at Tokyo University of the Arts, the Oscar-nominated short film veteran Koji Yamamura, is credited as the film's producer. Still, Katasumi no Uroko feels like a very personal project, as if it's a story from the director's own life.

Megumi Ishitani doesn't have a long list of anime attributed to her on MAL at the moment of writing. Since the making of Katasumi no Uroko she has been praised for her work as an episode director and storyboard creator on Dragon Ball Super, and is currently working for Toei Animation. After watching Katasumi no Uroko, I'll be keeping an eye out for her coming works. (Also, she directed a kids' anime for NHK called "Butt Detective" which I believe speaks for itself)

All in all, Ishitani's graduation film Katasumi no Uroko is a beautifully imagined short story from a promising young director that would be worth spending a few minutes of your time to watch. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.

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