Director: Ujicha
Screenplay: Ujicha
Squawk Solid: Aoi Yûki as Bobby; Shigeo
Takahashi as Akkun/Yakkun; Naoki Tanaka as George; Nao Hanai as Kyoko; Daisuke
Ono as Takaaki; Hitoshi Matsumoto as the Narrator; Tomorowo Taguchi as Koike; Saki
Fujita as Yoshiko/Sayaka
Viewed in Eastern with English Subtitles
There change into a chimpanzee in the bathroom!
For many, without context of Ujicha’s old film The Burning Buddha Man (2013), Violence Voyager could presumably presumably be a shock to
glimpse. On hand now not from anime distributors, as in the UK
thru Third Window Photos on
Blu-Ray with the older film in 2021, this exists in a strange station as, now not
traditionally “anime”, Ujicha
creates very idiosyncratic work fully in accordance to the view of “geki-mation”,
paper puppet conclude motion. If my see of Violence
Voyager by some means tones down about a of the bafflement, that is most practical seemingly on narrative of I undoubtedly private
been baptised in this weirdness for a protracted time, attributable to having viewed The Burning Buddha Man and witnessed
how proudly strange the narratives of these motion pictures are too.
There could be a perverse hotfoot of a
fairy narrative right here, despite now not being upright for youngsters in the slightest, in
which an American boy in Japan called Bobby and his pal Akkun, with his queer
grilled marked forehead, attain now not designate the warning of the knowing susceptible man, called
Former Man Lucky-Monkey, to now not scuttle up the mountain. On stated mountain, they
bump into a rundown and assign-it-yourself amusement park called Violence Voyager in the
center of nowhere. No longer realising even the establish, to now not allege as a rundown
amusement fraction, is one thing to preserve away from, they bump into a station which is a mock
alien invasion game with killer robots, performed as a water brand game the save you
private a range of water pistols (reproduction rifles to little dolphin ones) to shoot
robotic fashions. Issues already scuttle south when they secure a lady there who says she
has now not been allowed to proceed. Right here is a film I had anticipated seeing, but I
will warn viewers has slightly low jabber material even when the film is performed with
paper cut-outs. Even when they does now not see real looking in Ujicha’s assemble, and is as valuable goofy and perverse on cause because it
is disturbing, Violence Voyager has
some subject subject it’s good to maybe presumably presumably presumably now not be in a arena to gain away with in stay motion cherish this.
That this passed upright for
fifteen year olds in Britain is one thing to love if even for me, as a
progressive particular particular person, is dumbfounding, as a British viewer who has viewed a
assemble of progressiveness appear over time as valuable as contradictions restful
appear inside of the British Board of Movie
Classification. They’re valuable more lax with animation, the save it’s good to maybe presumably presumably presumably gain
away with jabber material that will presumably presumably private gotten a increased rating in animation unless
you contact on obvious matters1. And believe me, as a fright narrative, Violence Voyager is a zigzag itsy-bitsy
narrative moving youngsters, even when grotesque caricatures in some cases, being
killed off or, if restful alive or life like, being transmogrified into monsters, with
corpses mutilated and fed to a resolve that change into once the lifeless son of the
amusement park’s creator.
Taking his impression from Kazuo Umezu’s manga Cat-Eyed Boy, particularly a 1976 television adaptation which broken-down
paper puppetry too, Ujicha has no
qualms with exaggerating his jabber material, befitting a one who named himself after
his birth station’s green tea. More in screech, for gristly live, he uses real
liquids to depict blood and different fluids, especially as transmogrification causes
one’s digestive machine to swap. He even uses real fireplace and firecracker
explosions for the closing with Chekov’s lighter. It is seemingly you’ll presumably presumably most practical seemingly gain away with
half of this most practical seemingly in this paper cut-out assemble, and with about a of it, even being
paper does now not cowl the queasy live, as a obvious horrifying chicken-mother
feeding organism, which feeds the resurrected son with a spiny flesh tube, change into
icky even for me.
Right here is, then again, a film
moving particular undies as a station point, as Bobby will actually swap due
to the trauma of this scenario, so Ujicha
has a sense of humour. Worship The Burning
Buddha Man, the station is depicted seriously but all the pieces is overtly
strange. Naturally on narrative of this perspective, right here’s the more or less one-offs
which both had bodily fluid gags, and goes as far as comprise a troupe from
fairy tales (from across the sector) of Bobby’s kindness to animals leading to
them serving to him in a while, even when right here it’s his pet cat, a chimpanzee the susceptible
knowing man retains, and a bat (as in an dependable fairy narrative) he confirmed empathy for.
Every on occasion anime is strange out of accident or the identity, combined (as with manga)
of being forced to both manufacture one thing quickly and has to raise in an
viewers. There are exceptions, and in the few productions I undoubtedly private viewed, Ujicha feels sincerely in contact with
these strange premises and their idiosyncrasies despite being, as viewed in
interviews when he steps from in the aid of the digital camera, a regular guy who discover about
assemble in college2. Lustrous his work is fully done by himself
(baring sound assemble, enlighten performing and music) emphasises this, his identity freely
flexed in a context, which is zigzag and eyebrow rising, but tempered with a
whimsy.
It is an achievement, one thing
painstakingly made, the paper cut-out fashions having to be designed and drawn,
cut out and even moved even in their restricted assemble with palms being viewed on
digital camera. Baring what they’re if you happen to firstly originate watching the film, this
feels cherish a elegant manufacturing which does now not show a limitation from its
sources, as an different a different assemble of animation with a deliberate artifice. So valuable
so, I attain now not favor to clarify on more. These with the abdominal for this are
going to skills one thing undoubtedly weird and wonderful. Call it cult, but that must now not
be broken-correct down to brush off its ingenious qualities, on narrative of right here’s restful an distinctive
manufacturing I change into grateful to in a roundabout design skills.
=========
1) Elfen Lied (2004), in the earlier days of DVD, change into any other instance
and that change into both extraordinarily violent and with grim subject subject. At present time you
could presumably presumably restful be design more violent even that Violence
Voyager, or private obvious state jabber material, including anime’s obnoxious addiction of
sexualising early life, to gain the eighteen certificates and even censorship
for the time being.
2) Third Window Image’s 2021 Blu Ray has a transient self-made interview
with him which undoubtedly helped grow an appreciation for a moderately awkward
youthful guy trusty painstakingly doing his work. Even when the distributor asked
what he would favor with a increased finances, he would restful favor to transfer the
puppets himself even when he could presumably presumably private favored others to aid assemble the
backgrounds for work, which is a clear designate of anyone passionate for his craft.