Mind Game (I) (2004)

The film follows Nishi, a loser who has a crush on his childhood girlfriend. After an encounter with the Japanese mafia, the film follows Nishi as he journeys to heaven and back, and ends ... See full summary »

Director:

Masaaki Yuasa

Writers:

Robin Nishi (comic), Robin Nishi (story),

Stars:

Kôji Imada, Sayaka Maeda, Takashi Fujii

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview:
Kôji Imada	...	Nishi (voice)
Sayaka Maeda	...	Myon (voice)
Takashi Fujii	...	Jiisan (voice)
Seiko Takuma	...	Yan (voice)
Tomomitsu Yamaguchi	...	Ryou (voice)
Toshio Sakata	...	Father of Myon and Yan (voice)
Jôji Shimaki	...	Yakuza boss (voice)
Rintarou Nishi	...	Yakuza (voice)
Kenichi Chujou	...	Atsu (voice)

Storyline

The film follows Nishi, a loser who has a crush on his childhood girlfriend. After an encounter with the Japanese mafia, the film follows Nishi as he journeys to heaven and back, and ends up trapped in an even more unlikely place. Nishi (and some friends) attempt to break out of their trap, and discover what it truly means to be alive along the way. This is a mind-bending trip that uses some of the most innovative animation ever created.

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Plot Keywords:

sex | heaven | violence | love | comic artist | 

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Fantasy

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site [jp]

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

7 August 2004 (Japan)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Studio 4°C, Asmik Ace Entertainment, Beyond C.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is the directorial debut of Masaaki Yuasa.

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Quotes

Nishi: We've gotta leave. It's that or drown.
Yan: But how?
Nishi: The boat, of course!
Myon: The cops'll be looking for us.
Nishi: So?
Myon: The Yakuzas'll come after us!
Nishi: So what! I wanna get out! 'Cos there's so much out there! So many different people, living different lives! Incredibly good guys, bad guys... Folks completely different from us! It's one huge melting pot! See, it's not about success, dying in the streets, who's better, who's not! I just want to be a part of it! I realized that even if I've no connections, no ...

User Reviews

Touching the limits of imagination

I saw this piece on local Animefest and I tell you what. I honestly thought my head will blow. Such seemingly never-ending torrent of originality and imagination is truly unprecedented. There are numerous animation techniques mixed together, loads of standard anime exaggeration (no manga though), psychedelic trips, serious issues and silly sarcastic humor. There's no way an intelligent non-shallow adult would not like this masterpiece. Consider yourself as unprepared for what you will see but be ready to be surprised when you do and mentally exhausted once you did.

By the way, describing the plot of Mind Game would be utterly stupid. It's a mind game alright, you will get the message one way or another.

Straight 10/10