Suu-funkan no Yell wo

A Few Moments of Cheers was a bubbly, joyous treat that delivered a tightly written tale of youth wrapped in tons of flair.

With a story centred around a musician at a high school the story may initially come across as falling into familiar territory, however the team at studio Hurray led by director Popurika decided to lean into what they knew best - music videos - in order to set the story apart from the dozens of contemporaries. In doing so, the subject matter comes across as fresh and innovative allowing them to craft a message that feels genuine and real. Ultimately, the movie ... discusses themes of selfishness, connections, pressure and isolation amongst others through the relationship between teacher musician and video producer student, serving as an important reminder of the values and compromises we must prioritise to succeed.

Whilst the premise and story are on their own compelling, what really elevates A Few Moments of Cheers to the level of a masterpiece is the spectacular visual and audio presentation. The film employs a 3D CG cell shaded style which remains consistently gorgeous throughout the film thanks to the use of excellent lighting, bright, vibrant colours and beautifully hand painted backgrounds. There really isn't a bad looking shot in the entire movie. Moreover, the use of 3D allows the animators to play with really interesting unconventional techniques, such as smooth pans and transitions and crazily detailed and entertaining shots of Kanata animating his videos. The music further compounds the unique style of the film, with a constant string-led orchestral score conveying a great deal of the emotional impact, particularly in montage scenes and those with little dialogue. The original songs that Orie sings are also really powerful pop pieces that become almost guttural at points due to the sheer emotion in her voice. I was glad to see them finish the movie with the full final MV as well; it was a well appreciated touch that really brought things together.

At only just over an hour long there really is very little reason to avoid watching A Few Moments of Cheers. It expertly tells a compelling story with beautiful animation and music and manages to feel perfectly satisfactory by the end. I really hope that Popurika and the team at Hurray continue to make feature length anime in the future outside of music videos because if they can continue to produce them at this level then we might just have a new all time great studio on our hands.