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| THIS IS AN ANIME ONLY DISCUSSION POST. DO NOT DISCUSS THE MANGA BEYOND THIS EPISODE. ---------------------------------------- Just curious to see what others' thoughts were on this short. This is perhaps the most "un-anime" anime that I have seen. To me, though the language was Japanese, it managed to feel as though it really could have come out of Germany. The animation was perfect, in my opinion... I don't know that anything else would have really complemented the story the way this did. I don't come from a strong Kafka background, personally... a few required high school readings is the extent to what I had. However, I know enough to say that his stories are deep metaphoric explorations of the psyche that deserve a lot of contemplation. If you'd like to understand more of what this story was actually about, here is a link to an analysis that may help give you some ideas. |
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| The movie would have had a totally different impact on me if the animation was done in a more "normal" style. I only being 15, and not even knowing that it was a book, I still found it very interesting. I being a fan of Naoki Urasawa's works like Monster and such... gives off a slightly eere feel as this does. Thanks for the link... pointed out some things that I didn't even think of o.o I saw most of the opposition, but the thing like 2 horses -> 2 sibilings didn't even really occur to me. |
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xScar said: The movie would have had a totally different impact on me if the animation was done in a more "normal" style. I only being 15, and not even knowing that it was a book, I still found it very interesting. I being a fan of Naoki Urasawa's works like Monster and such... gives off a slightly eere feel as this does. Thanks for the link... pointed out some things that I didn't even think of o.o I saw most of the opposition, but the thing like 2 horses -> 2 sibilings didn't even really occur to me. Hehe, I guess it helps to know who Kafka is beforehand. He writes short stories that are very surreal... they seem to be done through the eyes of a person experiencing things that make little if any sense in the natural world (the horses running 10 miles in an instant, for example, or the groom's unexplained appearance). In a way, he sacrifices the story for the deeper meaning behind it. I actually thought about making a recommendation between Monster and this title because of the eerie feeling... specifically the story of the "monster." I never made the connection before this, but Urasawa may have been influenced by Kafka in writing it (he seems to at least have had an interest in German history/culture). If you like that sort of feeling, you may want to look at some of Kafka's other works, as many of them are very short reads. A Country Doctor, for example, is about a 5-10 minute story (though you can think on it for hours afterward). If you ever have to come up with any sort of literature project, he's a great choice for that too, seeing as you appear to enjoy stories that require some thought. |
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| I would like to see this, but can't find ANYWHERE. |
| This was amazing. The animation was flawless and the whole production had a very surreal feel to it. I've never read any of Kafka's works, but this has made me interested. |
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Galatea said: I would like to see this, but can't find ANYWHERE. Search TokyoToshokan for "Kafka" or "Country Doctor" and there will be two English results (it doesn't appear as Inaka Isha on there). I used the lower one and it had great quality. ...I just noticed you're from Italy. If you search "Kafka" and would prefer an Italian sub, one is indeed available! |
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| I dunno about the original story, but i'm sure the original story would have been very good. This more, was onto the completely weird side for the sake of being weird, and is very hard to understand without prior knowledge of the story (like my case). So I can't appreciate it enough, and didn't find it so enjoyable. But I can say, that the animations was awesome, but I couldn't help but be reminded of some incidents when some idiots put pubic hair on the movie scroll projector at certain cinema's while I was trying to watch the freiken movies... They were a good laugh at times thou. 7/10 |
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| loved it. |
逃げちゃ駄目だ。 |
| Amazing. This anime just got me into reading Kafka. I mean, I always wanted to read Kafka, but after watching this I just HAD TO. A few days ago I found a website with all of Kafka's works, read "A Country Doctor" and re-watched Inaka Isha. As you all said before - it's amazingly close to the book. |
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| The voice of the doctor was just mesmerizing. I also read the translated text of the "Country Doctor" and indeed, the anime adaptation was great. I haven't encountered Kafka's works in my school years, but I was pleasantly happy about watching this short episode. Really worth it. |
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| That was uh, interesting. Freaky horses. |
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| Poor old man, he went nude to the snow, so crazy. |
| Absolutely loved it. I had my doubts, at first, since some have likened it to Cat Soup, which I found very difficult to follow. However, I was actually able to follow Inaka Isha well enough and I enjoyed its unique animation, the haunting music, and all the ideas within it. I've never read anything of Kafka's and I'm terrible at picking up metaphors and the more subtle symbolism, so the critical analysis link helped a lot in bringing light to things I didn't think of while watching it. After going through it, Inaka Isha earns a few extra points in my book, although I loved it even before reading the link xD |
| I watched this after reading the story. When i was reading, I felt like i was so close to understanding it, but couldn't confidently make a sensible interpretation of everything, but after reading a quick paragraph on wiki it all worked out in my head. What i don't like about this animation is that the doctor sounds so emotionless all the time, but he is clearly desperate and bitter for most of the story. It makes what he does seem random. I checked out the link, and it's like WOAH. I think it picks a lot of interesting parallels and such, but reading too deeply into that, or trying to order it too much logically, will inevitably lead to obscure and unintended interpretations. The notes are based on looking at Kafka through a freudian lens. The rough and general idea behind it, which i picked up with help from wiki (which took it from Louis H Leiter) is that the doctor resigns to his duties, however ridiculous, allows himself to be manipulated, even by the likes of a beast like the groom, and he doesn't answer his most primal desire to hurry back home to protect Rosa. He himself is unambitious, so for no reason other than duty, he stays with the patient, and is subsequently humiliated and defiled, used, by the patient's family. |
| I don't think that they could have done anything better in this anime. The art and animation was amazing. The music and sound was also great. I haven't read this story from Kafka but I've read many more and this looks very close to a Kafka-ish world. A bitter reality of human behavior wrapped in surrealism and metaphors. |
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| Very qualititive adaptation of the novel, but It is good almost only for fans of Kafka, and just normal for others. 6/10 for most people (me too) and 7~8~9~10/10 for fans. |
| Presentation, presentation, presentation! This title had it out the ears. The art style and creepy music, really got me into the plot. As sad as it was. Loved it! |
| Really impressive. Okey, maybe unusual grafics but still genius and impressive. I really liked it. That anime honestly make me feel Kafka. Just like his style. (: |
| That was something. Long time since I gave 10 to anime. This one deserves it; even though I didn't read the novel. (Hope I will do it soon) The greatest advantage was the animation and all that surrealism; really, really wonderful. |
| Mindfuck extroardinaire. I preferred the original story though because without much fancy presentation (well beside the lack of paragraph of course) the reader could realize by himself the absurdity of the situation. But still without comparison this is pretty darn good movie with a splendid surreal atmosphere. |
| Wow this is an anime? I've watched other anime with almost the same weird art and animation but I agree with the OP, this is "un-anime" as it gets that I have watched too! Anyway at least it was different from the usual thing so I guess it was still OK by my book. |
| You see there's no need to wonder where your god is, Coz he's right here! ...and he's fresh out of mercy. |
| one of the most unusual 20 mins of my life |
 Are you the bloody applause monkey? Keep your sh*t comments to yourself or go troll on 4chan. |
| Human failure, a reoccuring theme in Kafka's work just as failing to live up to expectations. The disorted body proportions reflect the doctor's mental instability quite well, visualizing his inner turmoil and paranoia. |
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| very unsettling, as it should be, being based on a franz kafka story...some of the most innovative and strange animation i've ever had the pleasure to perceive - perfectly captured the ghostly devil's vibe of the dark german winter - i'm going to have to go back and reread some of kafka's works after seeing that - great stuff! |
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| This was a pretty interesting watch. Wasn't expecting such good animation and the art really reminded me of Tsumiki no Ie. |
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moozooh said: Does justice to Kafka. Absolutely agreed. This is more of an art film than anime, and for what it's worth, it rightfully captures the surreal, disorienting story that is A Country Doctor. It also makes as much sense as the original, AKA none at all. Loved the interpretation of the story's atmosphere, even if it was fatiguing to watch (I prefer his more down-to-earth stories). |
hellogoodbyeOct 6, 2012 7:51 PM
| Eh...Didn't really like this. This adaptation is a little confusing while the original story is really just bizarre rather than confusing. More things are explicitly stated in the story, where as in the movie there's no pretense for some of the actions of the doctor or the horses and the other characters. The animation was intersting, but a bit boring at the same time. It communicated the bizarreness of the story, but the voice acting did a better job of communicating the stress and anxiety of the doctor, which to me are more important features of Kafa's works. 6/10 |
| I really enjoyed most of Kafka's works I've read so far, however, this anime was hard to get into. I guess I'll have to read the story and then watch this again. All in all I rated this 7/10. |
| That was... different... but good because of its otherness, it's not like most of nowadays series in which story is almost the same |
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| This leaves me confused but speechless. Wow. I liked it. |
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| Well, this was weird. I was watching、 thinking how weird this is, and then came the dialogue between the doctor and the sickly boy and made it so worth it. Life wisdom casually strolling by. Do you know, my confidence in you is very small. ね、僕はあんたのことなんて全然信頼しちゃいないんだ。 Instead of helping, you give me less room on my deathbed. 助けてくれるどころか、僕の死の床を窮屈にしに来ただけじゃないか。 Really, I want to scratch your eyeballs out. まったく、目ん玉をくりぬいてやりたいよ。 そうさ。いつだって満足しなきゃならないのさ。 素敵な傷をもって僕はこの世に生まれてきた。こいつが僕の唯一の宝物ってわけだ。 Alas, I always have to be satisfied. I came into this world with a beautiful wound. That's my only treasure. 若い友よ、お前の欠点はな、視野が狭いってことだ。 これでも私はあちこちでありとあらゆる患者を見て来た。 その私が断言するのだ：お前の傷はそう酷いものじゃない。 Young friend, your flaw is that your field of vision is too narrow. Even though I'm like this, I've seen all sorts of sickly people so I can say this: your wound is not that great. |
| watching expecting something mindless surealism that not even bothered to though after watch it, got pretty strigh massage behind those surrealism and hit me hard. especially dialogue and main plot. 8/10. |
 "If taking responsibility for a mistake that cannot be undone means death, it's not that hard to die. At least, not as hard as to live on." |
| This is creepy... really creepy. Should have a horror tag. |
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| Weird and creepy. |
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| Very disturbing to watch. It is the kind of anime that will comeback to haunt you when you are feverish during a cold winter night... |
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| Damn, that was pretty damn creepy. The warping of proportions and body movement definitely worked for this story. I'll probably have to watch this again if I read Kafka's work. 6/10 |
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| The entire story of this Anime can easily and almost surely be missed by anyone not familiar with the Franz Kafka short of which this is an adaptation of. Thin, without fever, not cold, not warm, with empty eyes, without a shirt, the young man under the stuffed quilt heaves himself up, hangs around my throat and whispers in my ear, "Doctor, let me die." Love the way the above quote was animated in this short however. Overall experience, it was a decent watch. |
 Recommend me some short Manga! |
| I knew of the original version by Franz Kafka, but I refrained from reading any of it until I watched this film first. So, as it were, we have a German absurdist existentialist piece interpreted by a Japanese anime director. The results were...as arcane and enigmatic as it could have been? I guess? From what I can tell, the details of the story seemed accurate to the original piece, but it's interesting to compare the original's text-based origins and the animated version. In a sense, the text version is more clear and understandable, as the visual nature of the short was actually really distracting. It was hard to tell what the film was trying to say, as the language barrier, in addition to the complexity of the source material, made it difficult to understand what was going on. The visual flair and overwhelming animation style eclipsed the writing, despite the visuals did trying to complement the dialogue. Though, to be fair, the text version still requires contextual knowledge of Kafka's writings to really get, and I'm not well-read into his works. As is though, the short film is quite surreal with strong themes in guilt, isolation, anxiety, and a lot of self-questioning regarding the doctor's reason for being. I suppose the film's visuals were supposed to reflect these sentiments, but it was somewhat difficult for me to get while watching. Definitely takes some time to digest. |
| There were many things creepy about this anime, like the art for starters, the black children figures in his back, the man who bit Rosa, the two black horses and the naked situation. This had weirdly creepy on its tag, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. But I really wanted to know what happened to Rosa since he left her with that creepo. It looked like in the end he was chasing after him. 6/10. |
How I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb --- Dr Strangelove  |
| weird.. i won't sleep tonight for sure |
| Signature removed. Please have a positive iq. |
| Amazingly good. The animation is excellent for an experimental, low-return anime as well once you get used to the art style. Can be watched on youtube at e.g. https://youtu.be/zbOLSY3sX9g (as per fall 2019) and is well worth the 20 minutes. |
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| This didn't make any sense at all to me : / maybe i should read the original Kfka story in order to understand it. |
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