Bavel no Hon

Bavel's Book is a 1996 TV special by independent director and animator Koji Yamamura that tells about two siblings who find a mysterious book left on a bench and what happens to them after they start reading it. For its five-minute length, the anime presents a simple yet interesting story that comprises:
- a short adventure with a twist;
- a fair bit of surrealism that involves merging our reality with the reality inside the book;
- and also a cultural reference to Jorge Luis Borges - a famous Argentinian writer who is widely considered one of the key figures in the magical realism genre.
In general, with this short Yamamura vividly portrays how a person may get completely absorbed while reading an engaging book, especially if that person is a child with a rich imagination. The story may be not something mind-blowing, yet it's good for the fact that it employs an interesting surreal concept; brings enough twists for its brief duration; pays tribute to Borges and literature in general; and with all that remains clear and absolutely unpretentious, so that even a child could understand it.
Speaking of the animation, it is somewhat of a mixed bag. On the one hand, it is very interesting, creative and original, just like in all Yamamura's works. On the other hand, it also has a fairly low-budget look, and Yamamura's art style, with its brownish colours, sloppy lines and somewhat grotesque character designs, may probably not appeal to some viewers. In other words, it is artistic but low-budget and perhaps not for everyone.
Speaking of the sound department, the soundtrack is several short avant-garde tunes performed by a female duo called Syzygys. The melodies employ keyboards and violin; they aren't particularly memorable, yet they sound nice and fit various situations in the anime quite well. As for the voice-acting, it's just decent: the characters don't talk much, and when they talk, they sound just like usual kids should.
As for the characters themselves, they are just a boy, his sister, a certain man and a certain creature they encounter on their adventure. None of them get any substantial characterization; however, that's not what this short is supposed to do, and it hardly makes any sense to expect deep personalities and development in the course of five minutes anyway. So, the cast is nothing much, but that's excused by the show's format.
Overall, this anime is recommended to Yamamura's fans and those who are generally into experimental animation and unusual stories. Also, if you enjoy Bavel's Book, I highly recommend Atama Yama - my favourite Yamamura's short with a similar theme of merging realities, albeit in a totally different story.

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Rate a 6
English Subtitled

A story about stories. Portrayed to the audience that can get the most rewards that being children. Growing up is annoying. There are a lot of things to learn. Most of which can be tragic. Reading used to be a method of escape. With words clever use of depiction of images allowed one for at least a brief moment to put aside one's matters and escape into the dream before them. Sadly the era of televisions/computers changed that dream. Only time will tell if that was for the better or worse in terms of knowledge/benefits. I personally find this modern area to be neutral. Mainly because i am some what numb to the negative aspects. That being trolls and vile poisoners to name a few. But that doesn't stop me from enjoying positive feedback from other users around the world that enjoyed the same book or show.

What i think would be a killer idea is if a sequel was done that showed the modern era of technology. Would the children still feel the same?

Only aspect i didn't like was the artwork. For me i found it to be a tad blurry probably due to what i perceived to be water color. Which has a tendency of smearing color. That and the character's feet look abnormal which prevented me from fully appreciated anything else during those moments.

One aspect i did like was the amount of psychology portrayed in that brief film. Such as was the book left on purpose as a mere test for younger minds? Was the book a book or a diary/thought journal?

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Ah, the wonders of fiction and literature with a certain Mr Jorge Luis Borges acting as a cameo. In fact, this short animation is the epitome of what Jorge Luis Borges is famous for – magic realism. The animation that begins with a seemingly realistic world is slowly unfolding into a short adventure with a touch of fantasy/magic. The mesh between reality and fantasy is quintessential of magic realism and the animation shows exactly that. It even features something that reminded me of Borges’ short story The Library of Babel.

However, as much as this work is (perhaps) some sort of dedication for Jorge Luis Borges, the art style is not exactly my cup of tea and can be confusing at some points (i.e. especially the scene where the siblings were at the sea). The story is a rather cliché one – of how a book opens a world of wonders and adventures – with an absence of any notable features (apart from the said Mr Jorge Luis Borges) to make it stand out and therefore renders me to rate it any higher than I already did.

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