Yokoo's 3 Animation Films

As of writing this, the MAL synopsis states, and I quote "Three short films by the Japanese avant-garde illustrator and animator. Regarded (unfairly) as the Japanese equivalent of Andy Warhol" and I would love to ask the writer of this which side of "unfair" he falls when it comes to the comparison between Yokoo and Warhol. There is undoubtedly parallels, pop art and manipulating images of pop-culture figures are integral to either's work but I feel the way Yokoo does it in his three animations are noteworthy as it tackles aspects of pop culture and celebrity in ways I only see often talked about nowadays.

In ... the first short (KISS) I believe we see Yokoo explore the notion of affection depicted in media and the exploitation of public figures in relationships, something that in Asian cultures especially has been a prevalent controversy and topic of discussion, though what I find especially poignant is how the short almost participates in said exploitation, shoving nondescript handsome guys and beautiful ladies in our face kissing, as the short suggests, forcing the viewer to consider for themselves the meaning, or perhaps the lack thereof.

The second short (Kachi Kachi Yama) ventures into even more avant-garde territory, at times mimicking the writings of J.G Ballard in his experimental masterpiece 'The Atrocity Exhibition'. Beatles singing in Japanese to an American pharaoh as billboards advertising seemingly nonsensical nudity fly past a speeding car in the desert. It's absolutely absurd and leaves me bewildered to a point where I have a hard time honestly defending my appreciation for it without also being forced to write an analysis of the previously mentioned 'Atrocity Exhibition'. View it as a spectacle and you will likely enjoy it, view it as an absurdist art piece and you might find it profound.

The final and most abrasive short in my opinion (Tokuten Eizou Anthology No. 1) is almost apocalyptic in nature. Dealing with celebrity and culture in the form of literal idols of worship and how it formed the world into what we see in the 7 minute tour-de-force of seemingly unrelated (but to me deeply intertwined) imagery depicting Sun God's and trees of life controlled by the perceiver and creators of culture. I read this as a cautionary tale of what could be to come and what Yokoo saw us having in store if we fell down a path of worship too entrenched in capitalism and (literally in this case) cults of personality.

These were certainly interesting. I think it's rather easy to throw around words like "postmodernism" and "pop art" to describe these, and while that wouldn't in anyway be inaccurate, I'm going to refrain from doing so. Nor will I make any failed attempts at dissecting them. Because quite frankly, I'm not entirely sure what I saw. What I will say is Tadanori Yokoo's 3 Animation Films (KISS KISS KISS, Kachi Kachi Yama, and Tokuten Eizou Anthology No. 1) challenge one's perception of what anime is exactly. I say that in so much as most of us have a pretty clear idea of what anime is, ... and when we hear the word, very particular images come to mind, and I'd be willing to bet those images are nothing like what's on display here. Maybe that has more to do with the fact I've seen very little in the way of avant-garde anime, thus making these surreal exercises in 1960s expressionism quite the experience for me. Definitely intriguing works of art worth seeking out if one is in the mood for something very much outside of what we mostly think of anime as being.