Reviews

Its premise is simple, but what makes this short so engaging is its extraordinary execution. Tezuka, along with a few other rather skillful people, pour in a stupendous amount of effort only to be met with worthwhile results. The visual perspective we see is from a child's point-of-view whilst plummeting and rebounding across several spots. He travels throughout a forest, cityscape, ocean, and, ultimately, an active war field. Although being a Japanese production, Jumping features character designs that have a more classic western cartoon flavor to them, effectively making this short feel moderately more special compared to other anime of the time. Animation moves rather smoothly for being a short produced with a limited staff/budget during the 1980's. The detail in the line art is very well-rendered, whether it's the minuscule leaves on a giant tree or the intricate, painstakingly drawn windows of an extremely tall building, it's all given considerable attention. The constantly moving, crosshatch-heavy shading also adds some more personality to the already wonderful realistic art. Jumping also manages to pack in a wonderful sight gag, Stars Wars reference, and small, but potent, message regarding war and its undeniably ruinous effects, despite only clocking around seven minutes. In short, this is quite successful in what it sets out to do, and it's one of Tezuka's finest experimental works