Yoru wa Mijikashi Arukeyo Otome

On a mysterious night that seems to last for a year, an ordinary college student continues to chase one of his underclassmen, a girl with black hair—the girl of his dreams. Up until now, he has been relying on a simple plan, which is to calculatingly bump into her every day while making it seem like a meaningful coincidence. However, his efforts remain futile as their relationship is not progressing at all.

Meanwhile, the black-haired girl believes that everything is connected by fate and endeavors to experience as many new things as possible, leaving it all for destiny to decide. While strolling along the lively streets of Kyoto, she discovers that the very beginning of her fateful journey—a book she had as a child—is currently being sold in a second-hand bookstore. Upon knowing this, the college student eyes another opportunity to run into her "by chance": this time, he hopes to get the book before she does and finally grasp the thread of fate that could connect their hearts.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Kurokami no Otome Main

Hanazawa, Kana Japanese

Senpai Main

Hoshino, Gen Japanese

Higuchi, Seitarou ing

Nakai, Kazuya Japanese

Johnny ing

Hiyama, Nobuyuki Japanese

Hanuki, Ryouko ing

Kaida, Yuuko Japanese

Gakuensai Jimukyokuchou ing

Kamiya, Hiroshi Japanese

Furuhonichi no Kamisama ing

Yoshino, Hiroyuki Japanese

Pantsu Soubanchou ing

Akiyama, Ryuuji Japanese

Princess Daruma ing

Yuuki, Aoi Japanese

Suda, Kazuko ing

Niizuma, Seiko Japanese

Choi, Eun-Young Producer, Storyboard

Ozaki, Noriko Producer

Yuasa, Masaaki Director, Episode Director, Storyboard, Executive Producer

Kimura, Eriko Sound Director

Reviews

Apr 12, 2017

manlyflower

Recommended

"Yoru wa Mijikashi, Arukeyo Otome" (or "The Night is Short, Walk On, Young Maiden") is a film by director Masaaki Yuasa based on the similarly titled novel by author Tomihiko Morimi. If you are at all familiar with Yuasa's previous works as well as Morimi's adapations (including the Yuasa adaptation of "Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei"), there's a good chance you'll know exactly what you're getting into by watching this film.

To put it simply: this movie is an utter, frenetic delight.

The story, without spoiling too much, is a perfect match for the big screen. Covering the events of a single lively night in the imaginative world of ... Morimi's Kyoto, it's not often you see so much happen in such a short amount of time. Fans of "Yojouhan" will be familiar with the unforgiving speed of the dialogue, but as you'd expect with a film adaptation, the story events move just as quickly, with scene after scene transitioning wildly into the next. To add to that, the content is as surreal as ever despite the simple premise. Most of the scenes are thoroughly steeped in a sort of magic realism, the characters seeing the strangely off-kilter world—in which people claim to be local deities, loan sharks travel along the rivers, students run around hosting guerrilla theater productions, and everyone seems to have bottomless stomachs—with a sense of relative acceptance. Though this kind of storytelling seems like it would be hard to follow, I surprisingly never got lost, as the story itself is fairly straightforward and the motivations clear.

That's not to say the film's design is simple as well, however. Yuasa's portrayal of Kyoto at night is as much his as it is Morimi's. Every crevice of the city is brimming with life and abstract design to match the surreal events of the story, and following the characters as they jump from narrow, pub-filled alleyways to bustling marketplaces in the middle of the night, from brightly-lit restaurants to unreal, technological command-rooms almost feels like watching a fever dream unfold. In every new scene, the nighttime city evolves more and more into a fantastic, magical maze of mythology and wonder, something that only the combined imaginative force of Yuasa and Morimi could produce. Add to that the wild, exaggerated, but uniquely simplistic art style and the light, delightful soundtrack, and the end result is something truly refreshing.

As was the case with "Yojouhan" as well, the characters are a complete joy to watch. All of them are immensely varied in personality but still somehow all manage to stay afloat amidst the chaos of the story as they effortlessly weave in and out of plot. In particular, the black-haired maiden, voiced by the equally delightful Kana Hanazawa, carries the show with her indomitable charm and a refusal to let herself be slowed down by what happens around her, instead almost encouraging the story to grow even more wild. I was a little unsure about the male protagonist at first, but his personality proves to be an invaluable foil that really seals the movie's conclusion for the better and makes for a very satisfying ending. The side cast is also extremely memorable and full of strange, amusing personalities that somehow work in perfect conjunction with each other despite being so unique and energetic.

Of course, this movie isn't without its flaws. I'm honestly not even sure "flaws" is the best way to word it, but for better or for worse, there are a couple of scenes and subplots that seem to be drawn out a little excessively, albeit in true Yuasa fashion. (They certainly serve a purpose, but the experience is still a little jarring and they tend to break the flow.) In addition is the large cast. While the major side characters are given surprising depth and background despite the movie length, I feel this very strength takes away from the development of the two main characters slightly due to the limited time. Also, a lot of the more minor characters are thrown into the story a little too haphazardly. While it does add to the overall exciting and chaotic atmosphere, it can be a little overwhelming at times, and the sheer number of characters gives each of their stories somewhat less impact.

This brings me to how much this movie references earlier works. In every recess of the film are nods to previous Morimi adaptations and Yuasa films, including the use of many character designs from "Yojouhan" and even featuring a brief cameo from the director's as-of-this-moment not-yet-released film, "Yoake Tsugeru Lu no Uta." This has the wonderful effect of allowing us to enter the all-too-familiar Morimi universe with minimal amounts of exposition, but it presents a somewhat high barrier of entry for people that might not be familiar with "Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei" and, to a much lesser degree, "Uchoten Kazoku." Although not entirely necessary to enjoy the film, I strongly recommend watching "Yojouhan" beforehand to get a firm grasp on the characters of this eccentric universe so you'll appreciate the film that much more.

All in all, "Yoru wa Mijikashi" is an immensely delightful experience. Every second of it is filled with undeniable charm and gorgeous imagination, and the breakneck pace of the story and transitions alongside the quirky cast of characters brimming with personality come together to take the audience on a wild ride really unlike anything else. I highly recommend it.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Apr 17, 2018

Gundroog

Mixed Feelings

After I finished watching this movie I felt like I missed something. It was by no means bad but the response to it all around seemed overwhelmingly positive. I didn’t want to be unfair to the movie before reviewing it so I whipped out a notepad++ to make thorough notes for it during a re-watch to make sure I didn’t miss anything. The result of that was pretty predictable, I still don’t think this movie is fantastic but I appreciate what it did right and can definitely see why people would adore it.

At its most basic, Yoru wa Mijikashi Arukeyo Otome (from now on Mijikashi ... cause I don’t hate myself) is a bare bones story crafted for the purpose of conveying a few simple but wholesome and motivational messages. Love can’t be explained rationally, instead of trying to understand and explain it - take a leap into darkness. You won’t know until you try so don’t hesitate. Second after that is that everything in the world is connected, sometimes in a way that isn’t immediately obvious so don’t lock yourself away from others and follow the thread of fate. It’s nothing revelatory but what takes it a step above other movies is the excellent presentation.

During my re-watch I gained appreciation for just how tightly made this movie is, it’s not without flaws and I’ll bring them up later but there’s no denying that a lot of effort went into crafting it.

Yuasa is known for his mastery of visuals and Mijikashi is not exception. The overall art style takes after Tatami Galaxy with little to shading and a lot of very vibrant and contrasting imagery. However it has a flavor of its own that comes through in textures, effects and visuals metaphors. My personal favourite moment in the film is the used book sale segment. It’s happening at night so the only illuminated parts are the various stall. Outside world is cut off from the view with trees overlaid with lace patterns. It creates such a personal atmosphere for the whole segment, like it’s a special place disconnected from everywhere else. This kind of quality is consistent throughout and Mijikashi keeps varying up visuals and locations to keep things fresh throughout. It’s not a movie you’d watch for animation alone but it’s a strong aspect of it nonetheless.

The second aspect that springs to mind when talking about very meticulously crafted nature of the movie it’s how much effort went into making everything tie together. Most of what you see throughout the movie is bound to reappear later on, most characters and subplots weave in and out of each other all the time. It’s a great way to show how everything connected without hitting the viewer over the head with it (though Mijikashi still later hits you over the head with it).

To say a bit about the characters I think it’s important to note that they’re not meant to be deep or particularly fleshed out. Another deliberate aspect of this movie is that most of them don’t even have actual names. Our two main characters don’t even go by names, they represent ideas. Raven Haired Maiden being an embodiment of optimism and wonder and eagerness to try new things who acts as a counterpart to Senpai who’s held back by constant doubts, hesitation and cynicism.

However not everything is that good. I feel like the goal of the movie is confusing by the end of it. While it certainly does get the message across, it throws so much shit at you at any point that it’s easy to get lost and think that there’s supposed to be something more to it. Maybe it’s my personal hangup but I feel like at times Yuasa invites the viewer to further interpret the scenes but it ends up not being all that important in the long run. Everything that you might get from this movie thematically will be told to you directly at one point or another so it feels like everything else is just an unnecessary distraction. Did the Daruma heads in the bar scene have any significance? Is there a reason why Don Underpants’s play was so heavily focused on them beyond superficial connection between darumas and wishes? Are the Koi fish throughout the movie meant to say something more or is it there just for a pun? Why is Rihaku making his goons steal pants? Was there any significance to alcohol’s overwhelming presence? I feel like most of these would be easier to understand if I could read the 300 pages long book this 90 minutes long movie is based on.

Music is perhaps the most unremarkable aspect of this movie. It’s well made and fits every scene to a t but with how eccentric the movie otherwise it a generic soundtrack doesn’t do it justice. The only musical segments that actually stood out to me were the musicals, it’s a rare thing to see in anime and they don’t sound much like anything else in the movie while also serving as a vehicle for interesting animation and show off the versatile talent of voice actors involved.

In conclusion, Mijikashi is a good movie, not flawless but it’s a well paced ride many people will be able to relate to and enjoy. Just don’t expect it to be as complex as Tatami Galaxy or Mind Game and don’t fret over missing some details, anything you can get from this movie will be rammed into your head.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Mar 21, 2019

Bronzeapollo708

Not Recommended

I will preface by stating I have never seen The Tatami Galaxy. This is also only the second work I have seen by Yuasa, Masaaki. I only watched it in the first place because a friend of mine suggested it. This movie has its place, this movie can even be called good. Though to me, a layman, casual anime watcher, this movie was not worth my time.

The art style is insanely unique and something worth commending but it isn't something I would want every anime to look like. At the very beginning I actually found it annoying and because of it, was hard to ... connect with the characters. So the first 30 minutes of the movie I was like, this art style is unique but at points hard to look at. I wouldn't say it is without detail because it has details, it was simply done and easy to understand. Something I liked as I watched more. Though I prefer more details on characters, the set pieces were great but when I felt a disconnect from the characters it hurt my enjoyment from the story.

The sound to this whole movie is up there at the top, it was my favorite part of the whole movie. It helped tell the story and actually had a place when the characters were singing, the songs weren't filler but actually there own plot telling tools, something that has been lost in musicals of today.

That is really I can praise the movie for though, an art style that I didn't prefer over a normal style along with music and sounds that are above and beyond the standards we see today.

The characters are normal but each have their own quirks that are interesting. If I had to choose my favorite it would be Gakuensai Jimukyokuchou, Depraved Director, he was interesting, unique and to me told a story more compelling in the short time he was in scenes than the main story of this movie. The side characters of this story, were much more interesting than the main pair.

Which is something I look for in anime, I want the main character I can connect with and I didn't get that with the main two. The character I connected with most was Rihaku, and it bugged me how they wrote his plight because I would have written the opposite. The theme of isolation wasn't the main theme but it was the plight of two characters. Rihaku told himself to embrace the isolation while Kurokami told herself to interact with more people.

Rihaku was plighted with time spinning fast all around him "Time in isolation flies like an arrow..." I completely disagree. Time slows when we take notice of it, something the movies tells us the opposite of. "A watched pot never boils." "A watched clock never moves." "You watching paint dry?" When we bring ourselves to take notice of time or become impatient for something to happen it all slows.

From my own experience, I would argue when the man was laying in his death bed, time wouldn't be flying by, time would be standing still.

I would have written his character the same but drawn him as a young or middle-aged man. I would then when Kurokami comforts him have him rapid age as the clocks around his room begin rapidly spinning his life draining from his eyes and his lips curved in a smile. Just my own opinion but something I would have enjoyed more.

Then the main two, a standard as I saw nothing remarkable in either of them. I won't explain either of them here as the plot does it fine. Though in simple we have Kurokami living her life in the moment, and Senpai... is a timid man hopelessly in love.

The plot of the story heavily revolves around the theme of time. I don't feel the execution was stellar and it even dragged out points that weren't important along with a 25min more open that could have easily been 10.

Then in closing my final verdict on this movie is a 4, I put it as a 2 on my page but that is because I'm not a fan of these to start with.

The movie has its place and even probably thrives there, it's not for everyone though. The dialogue is fast pace, confusing, and overly complex. The characters aren't flawless and neither is the execution.

The sound and artwork are worth knowing about, it doesn't save the movie though.

To the casual watcher don't, to a fan of his works I suggest it.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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