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Note: I got to see this at a special premiere screening in my city, with Masaaki Yuasa himself in attendance! He's a very lovely guy. I hope that hasn't biased my review too much.

This film is closely intertwined with The Tatami Galaxy, a previous Yuasa-directed work. Their original novels were written by the same author, they share a setting in Kyoto and apparently take place in the same universe - many characters from TG pop up here and there in NiS, if not always in the way you expect them to. It's not strictly a sequel, but you'll get much more out of the film ... if you've seen Tatami, so that's something to consider.

Night is Short, much like Tatami Galaxy, is a bit of a difficult sell plot-wise - it focuses mostly on a college student only named Senpai whose only goal is to win the heart of his crush, the titular Girl, over the course of a night in which the two are out and about in Kyoto. Of course, it's not quite that simple- inventive camerawork and use of surrealism turn what could have been a very dull story into an amazingly fun adventure through Kyoto with a bouncy, dynamic cast of lovable characters.

Without revealing too much, the film retains Tatami Galaxy's distinctive, surreal visual style and sense of humour, but is much more lighthearted, comedic, and amazingly over-the-top in places without missing out on conveying its own messages. If you liked Tatami Galaxy, I can practically guarantee you'll love Night is Short.


The increased film budget combined with Yuasa's direction style lead to some beautiful animation sequences, and the Girl is so amazingly cheery, she can't help but grab your interest. An easy 10/10 from me, but then again I also loved Tatami.