I don't believe objective criticism of any film or anime is possible, and shimeji is the maximum example of this in my humble opinion, as it goes contrary to most of the typical structure and rules other works seem to follow, so I will only be talking about how shimeji made me feel.
Shimeji is a philosophical slice of life by the creator of Girls last Tour. In many ways, it's very similar to this previous title, as it borrows much of the narrative structure, however, it turns it up to the max. There isn't a single unimportant line of dialogue in this entire manga, everything has at least 6 layers to it. However, in contrast to other mangas considered complex or deep, (Let's take for example Lain or Evangelion), you don't need to understand the depths this manga touches in order to enjoy it. The depth is an addition, not their whole identity.
At the start of the manga, shijima says the line "I wonder if this is a metaphor for something." This sets the tone for the rest of the manga. Let's analyze for example chapter 4. This chapter is divided into 3 scenes. In our first scene, shijima and majime are buying lunch, and majime describes how her mom didn't prepare lunch for her today, and she feels kind of sad because of it.
In our next scene, they're in art class. They're given a metal wire and told to represent "Sadness". Of course, every student has a different interpretation of "sadness", and that can be seen in the way everyone's project looks. This entire scene is very absurd, and can be funny because of it. In our last scene, shijima and majime are outside class, and they go talk to one of her teachers.
In this section, it's shown that the teacher is an alcoholic, however, they cant drink in school grounds, so they made a hole in the fence, so they can go outside a second to legally drink and then go back in. This is also kinda funny
So what we have now, a little bit of SoL conversation followed for comedy, however, it all keeps the same theme of "Sadness", first scene, majime is sad, second scene, they're representing sadness, last scene, the fence with the hole on it was made of the same metal wires, so we can extrapolate that the wire fence is also a metaphor for sadness
However, is there anything intrinsic about sadness that makes it follow these ideas?. there really isn't, this is just how feelings work, they don't have a set manifestation, it could be sadness, happyness, etc. I won't spoil anything, but this is the grounds for something in a later chapter.
In one scene we have comedy, character development, philosophical undertones, and setup for the future. Chapter 4 is NOT the exception, this is the rule with the manga.
Tkmiz art is very surreal too, it ignores regular anatomy and changes the shape of the characters to express their feelings, this was also the case with girls last tour. But in shimeji simulation, this doesn't only apply for the characters, but for the world too. The world of shimeji simulation is impossible, if you notice closely, the shape of some roads are optical illusions and impossible shapes.
This isn't just because it's cooler, it makes sense. In our previous analysis of chapter 4, everyone's representation of sadness varied a lot. Depending on the life experiences of each student, the materials they had at hand, the language they spoke, and many other factors changed their interpretation of sadness. In a way, the world changed the way they understand feelings, and since people are the ones that create the cities that they live in, it's a feedback loop. We change the world and the world changes us. In this case, the world is surreal, so everyone's thoughts compared to us seem surreal, which on itselfs, creates a surreal world.
It's also worth mentioning that in this manga, the world is as much a protagonist as all the other characters, and this idea of how the world changes someone is explored in great detail earlier.
The fact that shimeji is as surreal as it is, gives tkmiz total creative freedom. They can push anything they want to the maximum. In fact, I would personally say that the only mangas I've really read that are this level of experimental and crazy are weird little anthologies, I mean stuff like panpanya's works. However, shimeji simulation is the only manga i'm aware of that takes that level of insanity and madness and polishes it into a complete, not nonsensical story.
The actual storytelling is also fairly interesting, while more mangas give you plenty of information of the plot and the worldbuilding. Shimeji simulation only gives you as much information as shijimas knows. If shijima doesn't know how something works, neither do you. The world, while absurd, makes total sense. The characters aren't just there for the plot, every character has a life, and if their life doesn't intersect with shijima's life, they wont appear. By the end of the manga, there will be MANY unresolved plots, however, it does not matter. The actual plot that shijima follows is the only one you need to know.
I feel there is a certain culture on the internet, where every piece of media has 200 theories, and every time, more writers appeal to that idea. Shimeji simulation is the total opposite of that, if you don't understand something, it's fine, you probably didn't have to get it. If some really small detail goes over your head, it's fine. If the story ends and there is much unresolved, it won't bother you. In life. You won't always have all the answers as everything that happens, this is the same thing.
All of this combined makes for a story that is complex yet simple to understand. Incredibly original but not impossible to approach. Funny, yet sad.
Shimeji simulation is the most ground breaking and original work of fiction i've ever put my eyes into. I really hope this gets animated in the future. I want people to know something like this is possible, to be exposed to a new form of writing, to enjoy the same joy I did while reading shimeji simulation. And above all else, future writers take inspiration from shimeji simulation and make something even greater.
Thank you for reading this.
