Mind Game

After seeing her jump onto a subway at the last second and getting her ankle crushed between the doors, Nishi reconnects with his high school sweetheart, Myon. Nishi is still very much in love with Myon, but is shocked to learn that she is engaged to another man. Nishi agrees to meet Myon's fiancé at her family's Yakitori restaurant, but members of the Yakuza storm the joint and murder Nishi when he tries to stop them from raping Myon.

Nishi, now dead, wakes up and meets a constantly shapeshifting god, who mocks him for dying. The god tells Nishi to walk into a portal and disappear from existence, which Nishi rejects, choosing instead to sprint past the god and reanimate. With a new outlook on life and knowledge of how the Yakuza are going to attack him, Nishi kills one of the Yakuza with his own gun, fleeing in a stolen car with Myon and her sister.

Acclaimed director Masaaki Yuasa's debut film, Mind Game's constantly shifting visuals tell a story about living one's life without regrets that is unlike any other.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Nishi Main

Imada, Koji Japanese

Myon Main

Maeda, Sayaka Japanese

Jii-san Supporting

Fujii, Takashi Japanese

Yakuza Supporting

Nishi, Rintarou Japanese

Atsu Supporting

Chuujou, Kenichi Japanese

Yan Supporting

Takuma, Seiko Japanese

Watanabe, Shinichirou Producer

Tanaka, Eiko Producer

Yuasa, Masaaki Director, Script, Character Design

Fayray Theme Song Performance

Reviews

Jul 22, 2008

Beatnik

Recommended

Contrary to the title, this doesn't so much play with your mind as it rubs its crotch against it furiously and dunks it in an ocean full of hallucinogen.

Produced by one of the most innovative animation studios around, Mind Game takes an abstract approach to a theme that a lot of mainstream anime has been promoting to viewers for decades: Don't give up, live life.

You see it everywhere, from Naruto to Mobile Suit Gundam to Ghibli. Anime is always reminding you of how short life is; encouraging you to stop watching it and go outside. Stop being self-conscious, act freely, chase your ... dreams, jump into the melting pot of humanity!

Mind Game's humorous approach is through a breezy kind of animation style that isn't afraid to become inconsistent at random moments. The most striking moments are when characters' faces are replaced by actual real life actors, which gives a surreal charm to the whole thing. A reason why I keep thinking of obscure quirky live action Japanese films, like Survive Style Five+, instead of other anime, because that's where Mind Game's sensibilities lie.

It is both aware and ignorant of the fact that it's animated, taking full advantage of the medium to show us wonderfully insane visuals, and ignoring it to use a narrative template that is underused in anime-land which is obsessed with plot driving the characters rather than the other way around, and whenever it is the other way around its labelled as 'slice of life'.

Not so much slice of life in Mind Game as it is a gigantic bite. We follow Nishi as he hooks up with a childhood sweetheart, we laugh at a violently ugly encounter in a restaurant, we grin stupidly at a loony action scene and spend the long remainder of the film captivated by a couple humans stripped bare, their hearts naked for all to see, and with that freedom enforced on them they're truly able to live life like they never were before.

The enforced freedom ultimately has to be taken away, which results in the film's powerful climax which is basically a race for life. A metaphorical dash across the debris of 21st century living; a furious rush that takes everything in the characters to achieve a future full of life and possibilities.

Mind Game itself shows the future and possibilities of anime. Another accomplishment for Studio 4C.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Dec 17, 2008

Redward

Mixed Feelings

This was a 'solid' effort. Fair. Decent. Average. 6 out of 10. There isn't a modest and balanced review for this movie on this site yet, and I feel its fair to those who are interested in it to realize its not the '10 OUT OF 10 FIVE STARS 1000%!!!!' bonanza its been made out to be. However, if you're convinced this movie is just that, don't read on.

Despite the title, this isn't a movie that will mess with your head or challenge you to think. It has a very simple message, one that was clearly stated: Live Life. The characters go on ... a journey that, while being fantastic, ended up feeling like a hollow victory come the climax. You can either blame that on the "reset button" ending or on the fact they chose to send us on acid trips over fleshing out the story.

The characters themselves were very much the same as the story. Decent, with some depth, but you could feel as though there was a wealth more to be explored that simply wasn't for one reason or another. Again, more time was given to the exploration of the art.

But what about the art? This movie is probably best known for its atypical style and beautifully executed animation. The problem though is its not a matter of execution, its a matter of content. Yes, the animation was expertly done, but the animation itself was a Wal-Mart bargain bin of good, bad, and indistinguishable. In this department, it really relies on the person watching and their preferences. Personally, I found it to be distracting and in some cases, absurd.

Basically it should come to this. If you've seen the movie or if you're thinking of watching it, ask yourself this one question..."Did I enjoy it?" . No, don't ask yourself if you 'understood everything' or if you 'appreciated the art'...ask yourself if you truly and honestly 'enjoyed' it.

Personally, its not a movie I'll watch again nor a movie I'll forget. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't that one amazing movie that its hyped to be either. It falls in the middle of the road.

It was fair. Decent. Average. 6 out of 10.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Oct 26, 2010

kekekeKaj

Not Recommended

Drizzling rain being seen through the windscreen of a car; A guy running around with wearing a football shirt and a... is that a diaper? A girl gets her leg trapped in the door of a train and flounders around like a fish out of water.

From the first random images of "Mind Game" that looks like it was drawn by a 6 year old, I can already tell that it's one of those titles that is no doubt hailed in the spirit of modern art as a mind blowing work of genius by some, and dismissed as more worthless than a pile of steaming dog ... turd on the pavement by others. If you're one of those people who will eagerly lap up anything that's different just because it's different, then this is one for you to watch. But if, like me, you only like originality when the resulting product is actually good, then I'd recommend you to steer well clear of "Mind Game". No one can deny that the style of "Mind Game" is quite unique, but I for one found it to be obnoxiously pretentious. If I wanted to admire some diabolical scrawl such as this, I can go and ogle at the "masterpieces" that my younger brother drew in school when he was about 10. Or maybe not, since those are probably better drawn than "Mind Game".

Underneath the crazy presentation lies a crazy adventure story. Just like the "FLCL" and "Dead Leaves", the crazy bits made me switch off totally, but brushing those issues aside, the rest of the movie (the little there is left) is strangely compelling, and I sometimes found myself totally drawn towards its powerful message of taking risks and living life to the full. The story itself has its moments of worth, and there is a surprising amount of character development. And undeniably, there are some moments of comedy genius (like the bit where the main guy tries to drive the car like James Bond) that had me helpless with laughter, but overall there's just too much crap mixed into this movie for my liking. The ending also sucks bad - if I understood it correctly, then it makes the rest of the movie even less worthwhile. In conclusion, "Mind Game" is certainly an interesting anime in parts, but I don't think those few parts of interest are enough to salvage this wreck of a movie.

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

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