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| That ending credits was strangely mesmerizing. Hmmm, very abstract journey |
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| Hmm what did I just watch O_O quite a lot what the fuck moments I must say! Yes so interesting, really liked this actually, still so weird! 9/10 |
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| The plot is that a brother cat embarks on a journey to retrieve the second half of his sister's soul. The ending seems to signify that despite everything he went through, we will all die eventually. However, despite this being my second re-watch, I still don't get the bulk of this anime. What was the deal with the circus? The cloud pigeon exploding into a sea of water? Why did the brother kill the pig, despite the pig offering him fish and carrying him through the desert? What's the significance of the water elephant? What about that whole section with the chef who tried to kill and cook the two cats? What about the metallic butterfly that sat atop the sister's "soul" (shaped like a flower.)? None of it seems to come together to form a unified whole, which I guess is to be expected when the director admits none of the scenes have any meaning attached to them. However, I loved the part with re-winding time, some scenes have good ideas (even if they aren't developed very well), the art and animation is great, I'm a fan of the atmosphere and it has very good re-watch value. 7/10 |
spyrocootOct 15, 2014 4:49 AM
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| Pretty dayum interesting. I haven't looked into it too much, but I got the meaning out of it that it was deconstructing child's cartoons about control for entertainment and relating that to people and the concept of God. The melon scene on the turning gears is the scene that made me notice that the most, as huge issues with the world were going by as the God-like figure just spun it crazy to get his fallen melon piece. Also, at the end the cats all phase out as if the television turned them off, treating them as entertainment in my eyes. The ending credits also showed a person either controlling the characters about, or the father, but it felt like it carried the controlling theme as well. The hansel and grettel scene also showed some control from the man towards the cats so he could enjoy his strange fetishes. Just what I noticed |
| I wondered if the little cat didn't just drown at the start and the rest is a hallucination on the way to death (he was playing with a boat). Maybe his sister died in her sleep some time before, and before finding her he was just spending time with a memory. Who knows. Lot of God in it, Noah's Ark and the like. Really don't know what it was saying but I quite enjoyed the trip. |
| Wow, that was great. The way the surrealism grew as the episode went on worked perfectly to make me feel like I was high. I didn't find it that creepy to be honest, but that was probably because I came in expecting 'horrible' things based on what I had heard of this anime before. The animation was excellent throughout. Especially how fluid everything was, was a treat to the eyes. The water elephant was where you can notice the good animation the best. I have no idea what some of the scenes were supposed to mean, but I guess the 'magician' was god, and the way he made the time itself go backwards just to eat the melon slice was supposed to say, that "Shit happens because god doesn't care. Deal with it." Not the most positive message. 8/10 |
cupcDec 5, 2014 5:43 AM
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| Everything about this was great really but the art is specially fantastic. |
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| That was very, very interesting. It's easily the most flat-out surreal thing I've seen to date. This is just my interpretation, and it certainly doesn't account for everything, but I think a lot of the symbolism and what happens is about dealing with the impending (and then actual) loss of a loved one who is still alive, and who isn't necessarily bed-ridden, but who will almost certainly die. There are a ton of really negative, pessimistic things in this OVA, which really make me think of how people in that kind of situation can feel incredibly desperate and hopeless, and how in their despair they curse the world, curse people, curse god. It gave off really strong vibes of the darkest places people can go within themselves. When you get like that, when you're a festering, fuming ball of negativity, despair, frustration, sadness, and anger, everything is stupid and pointless. The wonder of nature and other miraculous things is just more unfairness to be angry at. God, if he exists, is just toying with everything for no good reason. He may as well have dropped something and all this is simply the result of him trying to pick it back up. It's all a circus. They're going through so much misery, pain, and suffering, even though they're not the one dying. There are a few bright spots, though. There might be an unexpected upswing in the dying person's health, temporarily assuaging fears. It's like finding water in a desert (elephants symbolize luck), and you try to keep the upswing going, both for selfless reasons (you're incredibly grateful for the improvement in your loved one's health for their own sake) and for selfish reasons (you just want your loved one to be there for as long as they can be, for your own sake). You'll indulge in it recklessly and greedily, while being immensely thankful for it. But the luck can't last forever. It eventually runs out. And there will be people who take advantage of your desperation. In your misery and despair and anger at the world, you may lash out at people you perceive to be pigs who just happened to be the lucky ones. You'll take what you can from them. You'll use them up for the sake of yourself and your loved one. And maybe, after all the misery, all the pain, you'll realize that the most important thing is simply being together and cherishing the time you have. It's a huge relief, but it can't last forever. We're not immortal. With that realization, everything descends into darkness again, coupled with immense sadness, longing, regret, and the unwavering wish of wishes, desire of desires to just have that time with your loved one back again. To rewind the clock and be with them again, and again, and again... |
| wat |
"Urushibara Ruka. The mannerisms and voice of a woman... No... More feminine than any woman. But he's a guy. Taller than Mayuri, but so very thin... But he's a guy. Looks great in a miko outfit... But he's a guy. It's already twilight And yet, it's so hot. The cicadas are crying. But... He's a guy." |
| This was cute, real and surreal. big sis, my arm came off I needed something like this right now. |
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| That was so weird, but I actually liked it. |
| That was weird... but definitely not boring. I was happy when he found the other half of his sister's soul. |
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| nigga damn |
| Wut? Oh well, it's very entertaining to watch. It made me question my sanity! :D ... |
 “Even if the attention isn’t forever, I’ll keep singing.” |
| Well, it was... how to put it? deep and, still don't know why but, hit me really hard. Somehow I felt it really heavy to watch, but completely enjoyable. The topics, mainly death, were amazingly displayed in just 30 minutes, and so were the many confusing metaphors. On the other hand, I can describe this OVA as anything but cute. Still, I kind of loved it. 9/10. |
| I am thoroughly confused and fascinated by this, Yuasa is GOAT |
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| wut |
| This was interesting but, wierd at the same. |
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| i have a legit headache now... |
| This was good, I thought it was really creative. There are a lot of things one could draw from it. |
Mirai, zura~!  |
| Honestly, this isn't my type of anime. I won't score it low though, hell, I won't score it. It might be a masterpiece, it might be garbage, or maybe it's just average, I don't know, it could maybe even be all three. I found it weird but good. What I think it's representing is, as God watches these two characters go through hardships, he sees how awful his world is, he takes everything back and puts in some changes to his world, one of them being the disappearance of the main character's family. |
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| That was really disturbing to watch |
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| *me by the end* me: awww the sister now remembers~ ^^ . . *father disappears* me: huh *mother disappears* me: wHat *sister disappears* me: WAIT WAHT *everything disappears* me: ..well ok then |
| So many intricate scenes, some are parody from various stories like Noah's Ark, Hansel and Gretel, but some parts have the sense of mystery and art outside the common inference. This show is majestic. |
Sejin said: That was very, very interesting. It's easily the most flat-out surreal thing I've seen to date. This is just my interpretation, and it certainly doesn't account for everything, but I think a lot of the symbolism and what happens is about dealing with the impending (and then actual) loss of a loved one who is still alive, and who isn't necessarily bed-ridden, but who will almost certainly die. There are a ton of really negative, pessimistic things in this OVA, which really make me think of how people in that kind of situation can feel incredibly desperate and hopeless, and how in their despair they curse the world, curse people, curse god. It gave off really strong vibes of the darkest places people can go within themselves. When you get like that, when you're a festering, fuming ball of negativity, despair, frustration, sadness, and anger, everything is stupid and pointless. The wonder of nature and other miraculous things is just more unfairness to be angry at. God, if he exists, is just toying with everything for no good reason. He may as well have dropped something and all this is simply the result of him trying to pick it back up. It's all a circus. They're going through so much misery, pain, and suffering, even though they're not the one dying. There are a few bright spots, though. There might be an unexpected upswing in the dying person's health, temporarily assuaging fears. It's like finding water in a desert (elephants symbolize luck), and you try to keep the upswing going, both for selfless reasons (you're incredibly grateful for the improvement in your loved one's health for their own sake) and for selfish reasons (you just want your loved one to be there for as long as they can be, for your own sake). You'll indulge in it recklessly and greedily, while being immensely thankful for it. But the luck can't last forever. It eventually runs out. And there will be people who take advantage of your desperation. In your misery and despair and anger at the world, you may lash out at people you perceive to be pigs who just happened to be the lucky ones. You'll take what you can from them. You'll use them up for the sake of yourself and your loved one. And maybe, after all the misery, all the pain, you'll realize that the most important thing is simply being together and cherishing the time you have. It's a huge relief, but it can't last forever. We're not immortal. With that realization, everything descends into darkness again, coupled with immense sadness, longing, regret, and the unwavering wish of wishes, desire of desires to just have that time with your loved one back again. To rewind the clock and be with them again, and again, and again... To support this: This movie was made a few years after the suicide of the original Nekojiru and is based on stories by her husband Nekojiru-Y. Nekojiru often pictured herself as Nyako, the older sister. If you keep that in mind, you get a very personal story here. The little we know about her pictures Nekojiru as a mentally unstable person with bipolar disorder, strong sociopathic tendencies and a certain dissociation from almost everyone and everything. Aside from the music of Aphex Twin and gaming, she didn't really seem to care for anything at all and communication with her was...interesting to say the least. She certainly had her fair share of problems. Her husband, a manga Editor himself, somehow convinced her to draw manga and they become very successful in a very short time, despite(or maybe because of) the extremely dark humor and the often disturbing morals of those small stories, but the success started to become overwhelming and she worked like a madman to meet the demands. Then she died. We certainly could speculate over the reason she had, but in the end we don't know. Her husband started taking over in her name and created his own version of the Cat Soup, very similar on the outside but with certain differences until the movie was created. After that, the manga slowly came to a halt. Everything had been said. I always understood the movie as Y's way of dealing with her death. What happened, happened, but the little powerless Hajime tries everything to keep Nekojiru alive and in a way even succeeds, but something is missing. He continues the manga, trying to find what was lost when his wife died, trying to turn back time, trying to fight the world moving, but it time won't stop going on and finally he starts to accept this. Chiyomi who was Nekojiru is dead and with a final movie the mangaka Nekojiru really comes alive after being almost dead. And in the end, she dies. Her existence is switched off, her world is switched off, even we as the audience of Nekojiru get switched off and in the end it's just Y. It is neither a good, nor a bad ending, it's just like it is. What happens, happens. Further reading on Nekojiru: http://www.pelleas.net/aniTOP/index.php/yoshiaki_yoshinaga_on_nekojiru http://www.pelleas.net/aniTOP/index.php/yoshiaki_yoshinaga_on_nekojiru_pt_2 |
| In 9/10 cases, the worst thing about an anime is its fandom. |
| All these thoughts can be summed up in one question- What the fuck just happened o)_(o Her soul got ripped in half from the struggle and she became a vegetable so he brought her to the circus to make her feel better. That turned out ta be very disturbing tho. How he took advantage of the pig and others didn't leave a good impression on me. Indifference. The cogs of causality rewinds back to zero as every unfortunate event in the world becomes undone. That moment when you thought that the mindfuckery's done and you somehow understood it for the most part but they all suddenly got deleted >~< |
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| I wasnt really expecting it to be that dark. I thought its one of those shows to watch high, it was indeed cool for the most part but the negative imagery was a tad too much for my stoned self. |
 Oshii is probably the only director that loves dogs. He thinks he's a dog himself. That's right, its slime! It will dissolve your clothing slowly before my eyes! |
| Well, the art was nice. Everything else was...a mess to be honest. I don't know if it's because I was trying too much to analyze each scene and its merit, but in my opinion this was quite disappointing; it seems like a bunch of jumbled ideas that are just never explored enough. Maybe I should've just sat back and enjoyed the trippy experience for what it was, but even that was difficult given how quickly each scene transitioned, making it hard to fully appreciate everything that happened. Overall, probably 4/10 material, 5 if I were to be generous. It's a shame too, since I was expecting this to be more similar to something like Angel's Egg. Turns out it isn't even near the same level of quality, sadly. |
| I'm somewhat into psychedelic stuff, but watching "crazy" for 30 minutes was overkill for me. Definitely deserved to be in that article of "What did I just watch?". 4/10 |
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| That was disgusting, I didn't like it at all, at least Utsu Musume Sayuri is 3 mins long and not 30. |
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| "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar." - Sigmund Freud Sometimes a bad anime is just a bad anime. I honestly can't try to convince myself that this is somehow good because of the abstractness. It's just bad lol |
"Wonder is always difficult until you forgive whoever destroyed your love of surprises" — Edmond Manning  |
| That was the weirdest shit I've ever seen and the most disturbing. It took neko cuteness and shriveled it to the ground, I am really scarred for life and won't forget this movie ever. Like that pig, did they just took its meat and lived, then it ate its meat? Oh man the beating of the pig to the head was brutal by those cats, so much that it had to bite the little brother, talking about uncute cats. The water elephant! That crazy sicko masochist guy who wanted to make cat soup out of them, and got cut off limbs then placed inside the pot (sick on another level). God! Then the older sister smelled the flower and then bang! she came back, What? WHAT WAS UP WITH THE DISAPPEARING ENDING? Even the credits were demented, the way they looped. I'm really disturbed for real and scarred for life. But I enjoyed its uniqueness, so it's 8/10 because its rememberable. |
How I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb --- Dr Strangelove  |
| That was a mess and left me sort of sad. Not a fan. |
| Something about this makes me very, very sleepy that it took me 3 tries to finish it. It was like being read a bedtime story as a child. The visual imagery was fantastic and the melancholy music helped. Too tired to give a personal analysis but enjoyed reading others. 8/10 |
| Working en-sub version, summer 2019: https://youtu.be/XlLBX4EIlJY Interesting (religious) interpretation of the symbolism: https://youtu.be/t33ojaO9Tiw with some good observations (I do not share all, but quite a few). |
inimJun 19, 2019 12:22 PM
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| How to waste half an hour of my life - The animation Seriously, wtf did i just watch? there were some funny things like the pig riding in the desert but overall it was painful to watch... animation was great though. |
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| Well that was one of the best OVA I have watched, I mean it is weird but it sure has hidden messages than being weird which is nice. I love how this anime interpret some things in a weird way, if I have thinking some messages in a wrong one it is okay because it was enjoyable atleast. |
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