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May 18, 2015 2:30 PM

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Dec 2013
3405
Crazy shit, the most abstract thing I've ever watched and it was great. The whale escape scene was awesome indeed. The use of live-action shot just added to the greatness.
Jun 11, 2015 11:40 AM

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May 2015
185
What a piece of garbage that was.A movie for pretentious "elitist/critics" haha
This movie did everything wrong a movie could make wrong.
Stop being a bunch of shheeps and think for yourself.
Yuasa is the most overrated person in the industry imo.
I regret watching this movie. 1/10
Jun 11, 2015 4:09 PM
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Nov 2014
26586
Artistic as fuck, I love Yuasa.
Jun 11, 2015 4:29 PM

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Jun 2013
6126
Loserguy said:
What a piece of garbage that was.A movie for pretentious "elitist/critics" haha
This movie did everything wrong a movie could make wrong.
Stop being a bunch of shheeps and think for yourself.
Yuasa is the most overrated person in the industry imo.
I regret watching this movie. 1/10


Well damn, can't argue with that.
Jun 16, 2015 12:13 AM

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Feb 2015
1076
Eh, I think I'll stick with Tatami Galaxy. The visuals were fun but beyond that, I couldn't care for the movie.
Jun 16, 2015 4:59 AM

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Feb 2015
2796
I'm not into metaphorical and obscure plots for I value screenplay and dialogues.

This anime focused more on the artistic ridicule of comedy. The plot is devised to disorient, though the context is quite remarkable: life is not just on a closed space.
Jul 1, 2015 9:21 PM

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May 2012
1072
well that was certainly something else
Sep 13, 2015 11:23 AM

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Mar 2013
1879
Still a confusing mess. Not saying it's bad but I don't understand it.
added the fourth most popular anime onto this site
Feb 26, 2016 6:36 PM

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Jul 2009
21077
Wow that was ... certainly a unique experience O_O It was definitely interesting especially visually, but I feel like everyone here loving it got something out of it I didn't ... it was trippy but in a good way XD I was following the plot until the middle and then they got swallowed by a whale and I just kept thinking "WTF" ... uhh, yeah O_O Loved the music and atmosphere though ... so uh, I'm just gonna be confused for a bit longer but it was still enjoyable, so 7/10 :P
Mar 13, 2016 9:27 AM

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Jun 2009
353
Yet again, I love this guy's style but the story was just so... meh.
Aug 12, 2016 2:23 PM

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Mar 2010
5226
Wtf did I jist watch.. A bunch of randomness ^^" I dont see the deep meaning others see.
It was funny tho and made me think the director must be high on drugs for sure ^^"

7/10 tho leaning to a 6 as it sometimes got boring but the art was awesomely weird so thats why it is a 7
Oct 29, 2016 4:47 PM

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Oct 2016
167
Hated it.

I didn't get it at all. I actually really liked the director's other works- Tatami Galaxy and Ping Pong, but after finishing Mind Game I still don't know what it even about
Jan 12, 2017 7:20 PM

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Feb 2014
337
Ambitious film but lets just be honest and acknowledge that it gets pretty much overblown. All the wacky and crazy stuff is just there to fill the emptiness this films carries but try to convince us otherwise.
May 14, 2017 8:32 AM

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Jan 2017
626
That ending was yet another live your life as you wish.

Mod Edit: Merged double post
Contemporary0091Feb 21, 2018 2:44 PM
And still, Bill will live on.
He will befriend the next inhabitants of the earth, beings of light who revere him as a god.
And Bill will outlive them all... for millions and millions of years...exploring, learning, living,
until the earth is swallowed beneath his feet.
Until the sun is long since gone.
Until time loses all meaning and the moment comes that he knows only the positions of the stars
and sees them whether his eyes are closed or open.
Until he forgets his name and the place where he'd once come from.
He lives and he lives until all of the lights go out.
May 22, 2017 6:42 PM

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Mar 2012
5785
What the fuck did I just watch.

I'll give it that it was trippy but it just felt too random. The part where they were escaping the whale was pretty out there too but all this crazy stuff ended up being a dream anyway. That's pretty shit though since wouldn't that mean that Nishi won't learn to live his life to the fullest since the events that changed him never actually happened?
Oct 7, 2017 6:13 AM

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Jan 2014
3691
Hmm, this is probably my favorite movie now.





Three things cannot be long hidden..
...the s u n, the m oo n, and the tr u th.


Feb 28, 2018 5:54 PM

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Sep 2012
4014
I imagine that's what it feels like to take LSD.
Mar 17, 2018 3:34 PM

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Oct 2015
6916
That was an intense swimming from those guys, at times it seems like they were floating on water. As for the movie Overall, I didn't enjoy it that much but it isn't bad though. I will forget it and its characters though.

Reminded me of Kuuchuu Buranko on the art side, but Buranko was better in every aspect.

6/10.
lihle808Mar 17, 2018 3:38 PM
How I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb --- Dr Strangelove

Nov 5, 2018 10:00 AM
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Jul 2013
491
Definitely some LSD was used in the process. Original style and nice music, but by no means a masterpiece. Too many overstretched and unlinked scenes. The plot twist in the end is probably the best thing about this movie.
For everyone rating this 10/10, The Tatami Galaxy and Kuuchuu Buranko, which use similar style, are sooo much better than this.
May 20, 2019 12:06 PM

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Jun 2013
578
Someone knows the name of that bossa nova song ? The singer sang in Portuguese.
Aug 18, 2019 5:06 AM

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Dec 2016
3522
What a strange and amazing creation but goddamn was it amazing!
“I love heroes, but I don't want to be one. Do you even know what a hero is!? For example, you have some meat. Pirates will feast on the meat, but the hero will distribute it among the people! I want to eat the meat!” - Monkey D. Luffy
Jan 21, 2020 12:09 PM
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Apr 2018
249
When they get out of the whale, we saw the life people live in the imagination of Nishi. We can assume that he were hopeful he was going to live his life as he want. Old guy was working, preparing sushi or so. However, then, we see the bald guy alive later like everything didn't happen. (there were a clock on the body of the old guy before this scene.) İt's like everything is rewinded. Still don't know what happened.
Jan 24, 2020 7:59 AM

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Sep 2017
88
Another Yuasa failure -- add it to the list!
Apr 13, 2020 9:31 AM

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Feb 2015
2796
Rewatched this film this year, to reassess my favorite anime films, still one of the best.

Joms said:
I'm not into metaphorical and obscure plots for I value screenplay and dialogues.

This anime focused more on the artistic ridicule of comedy. The plot is devised to disorient, though the context is quite remarkable: life is not just on a closed space.


Seeing my 5 yr old post here is somewhat cringy haha, I don't even remember why I said this.
May 21, 2020 10:56 AM

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Apr 2020
14
This was such a crazy, unique, amazing experience. It was hilarious too. Honestly, I'm extremely glad I watched this. It was so refreshing and insightful.
Jul 12, 2020 11:46 PM

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Nov 2019
291
I really enjoyed this movie and when I rewatch it in 10 years I'll be sure to get on an edible high while I watch it.
Overall this movie gets a 9/10 from me ^^
TyDrianJul 13, 2020 12:03 AM
Jul 12, 2020 11:47 PM

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Nov 2019
291
Hokagirl said:
This was such a crazy, unique, amazing experience. It was hilarious too. Honestly, I'm extremely glad I watched this. It was so refreshing and insightful.


Agreed I'm surprised this movie isn't that popular
Jul 25, 2020 12:23 PM
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Aug 2019
63
i just found out about this movie and i loved it! the animation is great and it really is thought provoking but beautiful in a surreal way nonetheless. i was taken aback by the art style 'cause it was new to me but i learned to love it. i never even thought this movie could make me cry. a 10/10 for me! i gotta check out this studio's other works.
Feb 11, 2021 11:32 AM

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Jun 2014
4142
This was an incomprehensible clusterfuck. One of the worst things I've seen from Yuasa so far. 1/10
:3
Mar 28, 2021 9:15 PM
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May 2020
39
loved most of this movie the car chase, meeting god, and especially the climax were amazing. But that last scene where they said something like the story continues felt so unnecessary and really took away a lot of the enjoyment I had watching it.
Mar 31, 2021 1:08 AM

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Aug 2012
3305
Man, I sure do have a talent for picking movies with attempted rape in them, that's the second time today. Anyway, much like life Mind Game doesn't good until we meet God. But seriously, the beginning parts of the movie didn't really work for me, honestly the attempted rape scene made me pretty uncomfortable and furthered my already growing dislike of Nishi. Nishi had a lot of bouts of unlikability tbh, it really bothered me how often they tried to escape without alerting Gramps. If Gramps had a name I didn't catch it. And the only notable visual styles was the live-action inserts, which were amusing but that really only helped the movie not be just ugly.

But once Nishi is dead, everything picks up. We see more of the artistic shifts and experimental visuals take place, the concept behind God's constantly shifting design is brilliant and fantastically executed. And once Nishi is brought to life, it's just an adrenaline line of insanity, fantastic mental cutaways (I loved the shot of him seeing that car trick in theatre, because while he loved it you also see somebody else get up and leave the theatre because of it). And that the liberating sense of taking life in whatever direction you want is swallowed by a whale. I honestly didn't expect the rest of the movie to take place in the whale, but I think this is where the movie became the strongest, the most interesting and despite that limited setting (which is interesting on it's own mind you) it only grew more visually bolder in it's art-style and animation.

Needless to say, my enjoyment from this movie mostly came from the visuals. That's not to knock the story itself mind game you, they're fine but what engaged me was the visuals. My favourite style was probably Nishi's manga idea about the crew eating poop. And I do admit that occasionally these lengthy forays do last a little long, I thought the sex one went on too long, the one with the kids meeting Robin Nishi was completely dull (the the race bit was fun), and the first dance montage when they decided to enjoy being in the whale had moments that certainly dragged though I think the penis jump-rope gag salvaged that for me. Even the climactic run scene may have gone on a bit too long but that is still one of the strongest climaxes in a movie I've seen so I can't criticize it too much.

The ending I think works but I'll be honest it definitely confused me. The thing I believe Nishi texts at the beginning and end really compliment each-other, like during the beginning and ending train sequence one of the only differences is what Nishi types in the cellphone. The first time was something along the lines of "Your life is the result of your choices" whereas the last is "The story never ends", which yeah those work together. Cause you're always making choices, and the ending the movie with a montage of previous choices made (the recap part) and future possibilities depending on your choices, that makes sense, that's a good message. The only thing that can prevent your choices, is your death, staying in the whale. But again, I was confused when I saw it, I definitely caught the text message difference by myself, I'm proud of that, but I needed to look online to find out that the end montage was suppose to be a showcase of future possibilities and from there I connected the dots on how those fit together. And I do hope it wasn't suppose to just be in the Yakuza guys mind, but I guess it doesn't entirely change things.

Based on my old rating system, this would've gotten a 7.4, and as I get further away from it it does feel more like a 7/10 me. But that is because of my critical brain and just how much my enjoyment sort of hinged on the visual style, like maybe on a re-watch I'll end up giving it a 7 but it'd be disingenuous to give it less than a 8 now because I had so much fun watching this movie once it got going. Definitely my favourite Yuasa film that I've seen so far, even if I think Lu Over the Wall has stronger plotting & thematics or Ride Your Wave has better character writings & emotional moments, there are plenty of anime out there where I can get that fix. Something like Mind Game animation variance, that's a rare commodity. 8/10.
TerrestriousMar 31, 2021 2:25 PM
May 25, 2021 10:47 AM

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Nov 2012
4710
Based on what I took from this movie, it was about taking initiative in life and not living life so passively. To take risk and try to make the most out of life in a way that'll be satisfying to you personally.

In the beginning half of film we see Nishi lack the initiative to ask Myon to marry him, instead we see him imagine said scenario. When Myon is getting raped, she calls out for him but he cower in fear. When he finally does decide to do something he is killed, too little too late. He's so indecisive in life that he couldn't even imagine what god looks like properly when they meet.

After he's reborn his character drastically changes, Nishi transitions from passively living life to an all out risk and seemingly a borderline death seeker.

The sequence in the whale is kind of too abstract for me to fully make it out at the moment. But I think it was about trying to overcome what seems like an unsurpassable obstacle. That why their escape from it is so excessive and wildly exaggerated.

I thought this was a great movie, it did have some slower, harder to grasp aspects during the entire whale segment. But I wouldn't dock too much from the movie's overall score just because I didn't fully understand it and admittedly did find it kind of boring 7-8/10.
VarendantsMay 25, 2021 10:51 AM
Jul 18, 2021 6:30 PM

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Nov 2014
247
Meh, lot of cool scenes, but the story went way off tangent too many times, so the story started falling apart after they get sallow by the whale.
Oct 2, 2021 7:11 AM
A sandwich

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Jul 2020
1947
And here I thought Tekkonkinkreet was confusing. This trippiness is on another level entirely.

From a person being shot in the anus and having to watch it replay multiple times, to naked people dancing with tubes and balloons, ending in a running sequence longer than the field from Captain Tsubasa. I'm really glad I watched it with other people and laughed with them as much as I did. We really weren't expecting this kind of mind-fuckery.

Not a 10/10 though as the MC repulsed me as did many other explicit scenes. The cohesion is quite questionable at times as well. My guess is that the message being conveyed is "live life to the fullest" but it is so obscured by everything that's happening on screen that I doubt it a little bit. I'm also not a big fan of the art style as a whole but I can appreciate how creative they got with it.

I recommend watching it mostly with a group so that you can see their reactions. A very Japanese indeed.

PS: Props to the drummer from that one whale sequence at the end.
⠓⠥⠍⠁⠝⠊⠞⠽ ⠞⠓⠗⠕⠥⠛⠓ ⠎⠕⠍⠑ ⠎⠞⠥⠏⠊⠙⠊⠞⠽⠂ ⠎⠕⠍⠑ ⠺⠊⠇⠇ ⠎⠅⠊⠏ ⠺⠁⠎⠓⠊⠝⠛ ⠞⠓⠑⠊⠗ ⠓⠁⠝⠙⠎ ⠁⠝⠙ ⠑⠝⠙ ⠥⠏ ⠗⠥⠊⠝⠊⠝⠛ ⠊
⠞ ⠋⠕⠗ ⠑⠧⠑⠗⠽⠕⠝⠑
⠎⠓⠊⠊⠅⠕ ⠁⠕⠎⠕⠊⠂ ⠼⠃⠼⠚⠼⠁⠼⠓
Nov 29, 2021 1:52 PM

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Mar 2020
1110
getting shot in your asshole gotta be top 3 worst ways to go out
Floyd Mayweather English Tutor
Dec 31, 2021 5:42 AM

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Jul 2014
5407
This is by far the ugliest anime I've ever watched, absolutely disgusting to look at in the normal style and even more so when they'd randomly cut to live-action characters instead of animated ones (why in the world did they do that?).

God-awful visuals aside, this was OK until it started going incoherently surreal. At that point, it just lost me completely and I desperately wanted the absolute mess to be over (even at 2x speed it felt like it would never end). Typical pretentious artsy bullshit that thinks randomness for the sake of randomness makes something a masterpiece.

2/10. By far my least favourite Yuasa work ever and one of my least-favourite anime-watching experiences of all time.
Feb 11, 2022 10:44 AM
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May 2021
48
Atavistic said:
This is by far the ugliest anime I've ever watched, absolutely disgusting to look at in the normal style and even more so when they'd randomly cut to live-action characters instead of animated ones (why in the world did they do that?).

God-awful visuals aside, this was OK until it started going incoherently surreal. At that point, it just lost me completely and I desperately wanted the absolute mess to be over (even at 2x speed it felt like it would never end). Typical pretentious artsy bullshit that thinks randomness for the sake of randomness makes something a masterpiece.

2/10. By far my least favourite Yuasa work ever and one of my least-favourite anime-watching experiences of all time.


Dude, you watch anime in 2x and want to say something about the anime? What is your purpose in watching anime? Is it just to fill in the list and have quantity on the list and that's why you watch everything in 2x? If you watch anime twice it's because you've lost the love of watching anime or watch it just because you want to feel included in some group or just to have more anime on the list.
Mar 16, 2022 9:20 PM
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Mar 2019
9425
Very Very Weird.
With so much going on on screen i forgot they were still in the belly of the Whale.
I do like this kind once in a while.
Makes you think.
Jul 20, 2022 4:01 PM

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Aug 2021
1138
WHAT A RIDE
dont ruin the experience for urselves focus on the affect in the film dont analyze it feel it
cuz i was fkn screaming a crying fr
Jul 31, 2022 10:50 AM
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Nov 2020
647
Good. I loved myon breast and the sex scene. Also, the balloon dance was quite entertaining.
"I can't trust a website where csm is rated higher than hxh"
- Akira Toriyama




Aug 5, 2022 8:43 AM
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Nov 2020
2445
WTF did I just watched
Sep 12, 2022 2:31 PM

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Sep 2020
668
Pretty good, definitely an acid trip as they took full advantage of the medium. I thought the whale segment went on far too long, so I have to knock it a point for the drag. I wish they had cut it shorter and added other scenes on the outside either before or after they had escaped.

8/10
"You can't decide the future, but I'm going to re-educate you in the past!" - Erna Kurtz
May 6, 2023 12:53 PM
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Feb 2018
1
Really makes you feel like you go shot in the sphincter
May 8, 2023 1:06 AM
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Nov 2020
1
I don't know wtf i just watch. But whatever it was(///∇///) it was fucking good(*≧∇≦)ノ. I like it. Masaaki Yuasa cooked very well ヽ( ゚∀゚)ノ
May 28, 2023 9:28 PM

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Jun 2021
1262
.....................................MY GOD
BRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUH
Jun 1, 11:42 AM

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Aug 2018
17122
Pretty cool movie.
Jul 13, 3:16 PM
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Nov 2018
204
what an absolute load of garbage, a movie being weird for the sake of being weird because it doesnt has anything else going on besides a mediocre plot with boring characters, i wasted my time watching this
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It’s time to ditch the text file.
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