Intermission Time!
Sorry everyone. I'll admit that the Terror in Resonance and the Evangelion reviews are behind schedule, but they'll be up soon enough. In the meantime, here's an animation by Studio Madhouse: Death Billiards. Released last year for an anime event labelled "Anime Mirai," this 25 minute short is the subject of much discussion recently. There's a pretty significant reason that I'll get into later, but the short itself is a clear example of what anime can be.
 |
| Promotional Poster by Studio Madhouse |
We open with an elderly man entering through a mysterious elevator. Greeted by a young woman, he is directed to a rather elegant bar room. Are there normally stained glass window patterns in a bar? If anyone's actually been to a bar, I'd love to know. In any case, he enters to find two others: a white haired bartender, and a young man in a suit. Neither can remember how they got to their fine establishment, but they can remember what they had done the moment before. Confused at their current predicament, the bartender and the young stewardess from earlier begin to explain. Between the realm of life and death, there are many possibilities. One would usually think that when people die, they'd be sent to Heaven or Hell. In this case, they have been brought together to play a game. They cannot leave the room until someone has won the game. The old man calmly accepts these strange terms, while the young man is the one with the pretty normal reaction: LOL NOPE I'M LEAVING NOW K THANX BYE. And of course, the normal reaction brings no yield, with the means of escape really being sealed off. He even had his cell phone switched out for a receipt! With the supposed threat of death lingering over their heads, they are summoned to a game of...pool.
This short is called "Death Billiards" and yet they keep calling it "Death Pool." As much as I love the character, I don't think Deadpool is getting becoming cultured anytime soon.
Oh, and there's one more thing: the numbers on the balls are replaced by images of the participants vital organs and body parts. And they move in sync with their own pulse.
 |
| Keep your eye on the ball... |
See that 'eye' on the Blue Ball? Imagine if every time you blinked, it would blink at the exact same time. Yeah. You'd have to hit that with a stick. Don't get squeamish now. They aren't linked with your actual body parts aside from pulse. No. Really. It's purely there for immersion purposes. Adds tension, y'know?
I never knew that the same cut throat mentality of desperate humans could be applied to a game of billiards, but the tension is thick. The panicked expressions of the younger, the steely determination of the elder, and the seemingly mild amusement of the bartender and stewardess. It all comes together beautifully, wrapped up in very stylish animation. Intense camera angles and fluid actions that really showcase Studio Madhouse's talent. It's a bit more of a standard look when compared to more recent anime, but it maintains a clean look and on model characters. The music is a bit subdued here, but it's there when it really counts. The emotion filled moments can really be felt, and goes hand in hand with its representing scenes.
Speaking of representative scenes, there is a fair bit of subtlety and symbolism towards the end. It's all about the outcome of the game: The winner, what it means to win, and what happens next. I'd give you more details, but...it's a rather open ended ending. I have a pretty good idea of what it means, but I'll let you decide. Just pay attention, or you might not get it.
...
Overall, I highly recommend you check this out. It's only 25 minutes, but I'm sure you'll find something to take away from it. If nothing else, it will give you context for the upcoming anime that was green-lit recently: Death Parade.
 |
| Death Parade, coming January 2015. |
It's gotten a fair bit of attention, with this anime serving to flesh out the world. I'll cover it if you guys want, probably after Terror in Resonance.
With that, I leave you. Regular programming will return shortly. Catch you later!
- SpinGin
