Film Series

This fall the Center for Japanese Studies is proud to present eight evenings of rare and remarkable animation, few of which have ever been screened in the United States. “The Other Anime” will expand the audience’s understanding of Japanese animation, in every sense.

Fridays at 7:00 PM
Lorch Hall Auditorium, 611 Tappan Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
(at the intersection of Tappan and Monroe)
Admission FREE
Parking is free after 6:00 p.m. at the University parking structures on Church Street and Hill Street

September 19—Anime Shorts Part 1: 1940s to 1980s, approx. 90 min., color/black and white.
This collection of animated films spanning from the 1940s to contemporary times features titles including Kenzo Masaoka's legendary The Spider and the Tulip (Kumo to churippu, 1943), the "God of Comics" Osamu Tezuka's Broken Down Film (1985), Kazugoro Arai's puppet animation adaptations of Princess Kaguya (Kaguya Hime, 1942) and Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Match Girl (Matchi uri no shojo, 1947), and Picadon (1978), Renzo Kinoshita's animated film about the atomic bombing at Hiroshima, among others. In Japanese with English Subtitles, Dubbing, or Commentary

September 26—Band of Ninja (Ninja bugeicho), 1967, Dir. Nagisa Oshima, 131 min., black and white.
Also known as Manual of Ninja Martial Arts, the only cartoon from Japanese New Wave maestro Nagisa Oshima is as provocative as one would expect from such a remarkable filmmaker. The film follows Sanpei Shirato's classic comic story about the son of an assassinated feudal lord in the Muromachi period, who attempts to avenge his father's death and meets Kagemaru, a renegade ninja helping peasants and farmers rebel against Oda Nobunaga's regime. Oshima's treatment is a literal presentation of Shirato's work, edited from photography of actual comic book pages that are animated through the movement of the camera alone. At a time when Japan's theatrical and television animation industries were shifting to the "limited animation" techniques that are still common today, Oshima's confrontational approach pushes animation to its absolute "limit," encouraging viewers to reconsider their relationship to the moving picture and question the differences of animated film itself. In Japanese with English Subtitles

October 3—Anime Shorts Part 2: Wartime Films, approx. 100 min., black and white.
Despite the restrictions of wartime conditions, the Pacific War era is arguably the time when Japanese animated film truly started to come into its own as a technically advanced and truly popular storytelling medium. It was also the period in which Japan released its first full-length animated feature films, albeit in the form of pro-Japanese Empire propaganda. On this evening we present a brief glimpse of the anime version of WWII with several war-themed films from the era, including Mitsuyo Seo's seminal Momotaro's Sea Eagles, where Momotaro and his animal friends attack Pearl Harbor, which is protected by a bumbling Olive Oil and Brutus (Momotaro no umiwashi, 1943), Sanae Yamamoto's Spy Destruction (Supai gekimetsu, 1942), Noburo Ofuji's Sea Battle at Malay (Mare okikaisen, 1943) and several other titles. In Japanese with English Subtitles, Dubbing, or Commentary

October 10—The Legend of White Snake (Hakujaden), 1958, Dir. Taiji Yabushita, 79 min., color.
Also known as The Panda and the Magic Serpent. Japan's Toei Animation studio was a forerunner in the postwar animation industry long before producing blockbuster hits like Digimon and Sailor Moon. Once home to now world-renowned directors Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro) and Isao Takahata (My Neighbors the Yamadas, Only Yesterday), Toei released several theatrical films through the late 1950s and 60s that made waves in Japan's popular anime industry that can still be felt today. The Legend of White Snake was Toei's first leap into theatrical feature animation as well as Japan's first full-color, full-length anime film, with a story based upon on the Chinese folk tale "Bai Su Zhen." A white snake owned by a young man is transformed into a beautiful girl during a magical storm. The girl, Painyan, falls in love with her unknowing master Shusen, but due to unfortunate circumstances the two are separated. When the two lovers meet again Painyan is confronted by a spirit-hunting monk, and in an unfortunate tragedy that follows, Shusen is severely injured. Painyan must travel over land, under water, and through outer space to bring her beloved back to life. In Japanese with English Subtitles

October 17—Prince of the Sun: Horus' Great Adventure (Taiyo no oji Horusu no daiboken), 1968, Dir. Isao Takahata, 82 min., color.
Also known as Little Norse Prince Valiant. Auteur Isao Takahata's directorial debut was another landmark anime feature, eventually recognized as far ahead of its time—perhaps even as Toei Animation’s crowning achievement. Takahata's masterpiece was hailed by critics for the technical superiority of the animation and the complexity of the script and characters, but limited at the box office for lack of a cute and cheery atmosphere to satisfy Toei's usual young audience. Wild child Horus lives alone with his father in a remote northern land. When his father dies, Horus follows his wishes and sets off to search for another human settlement. He finds one and is soon accepted by the residents, especially after helping to defeat some of the "natural" disasters sent by the evil magician Grunwald. When a young orphan girl, Hilda, is accepted into the village, Horus must discover her past and defeat Grunwald in order to save the village. In Japanese with English Subtitles

October 24—Puss in Boots (Nagagutsu o haita neko), 1969, Dir. Kimio Yabuki, 80 min., color.
Perhaps it's no surprise that Toei's 1969 follow-up to Takahata's thoughtful Prince of the Sun came in the form of this light, gag-filled fairy tale, based on the story by French author Charles Perrault. Pero, a swashbuckling kitty cat, is on the run from the cat kingdom for saving a mouse. He meets Pierre, a handsome boy who gets kicked out of his home (and out of his inheritance) by two greedy older brothers, and the two start to travel together. Pero hears word that a king is looking for the "World's Richest Person" to become his daughter's husband, and promises to help Pierre win her heart. When the evil magician Lucifer appears and takes the princess Rosa as his own, Pierre, Pero and their cat and mouse buddies run to Lucifer's castle to outwit the villain and save the princess. In Japanese with English Subtitles

November 14—Anime Shorts Part 3: Prewar and Silent Films (plus Mt. Head), approx. 90 min.
In our third and final evening of shorts, we trace anime's history as far back as the 1920s to present a special selection of very rare prewar and silent animated films. Included are Tortoise and the Hare (Usagi to kame, 1924) and Momotaro: Japan's Number One Boy (Nippon ichi no Momotaro, 1928) by Sanae Yamamoto, Noburo Ofuji's The Legend of Songoku (Songoku monogatari, 1926), Yasuji Murata's Animal Olympics (Dobutsu orinpikku taikai, 1928), Hakusan Kimura's Tasuke Shiohara (Shiohara Tasuke, 1925), and others. The evening will conclude with a screening from the opposite side of the chronological spectrum—Koji Yamamura's Academy Award Nominated 2002 animated short, Mt. Head (Atama-yama). In Japanese with English Subtitles, Dubbing, or Commentary

November 21—Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, 2001, Dir. Hironobu Sakaguchi, 106 min., color.
A benchmark in movie making, Final Fantasy is visually stunning and pushes the boundaries of computer animation. Based on one of the most popular video games in Japan, by Director Hironobu Sakaguchi, the voices of many Hollywood stars can be heard throughout this Japanese-American co-production (Ming Na, Donald Sutherland, Alec Baldwin, and James Woods, to name a few). The year is 2065 and Earth is under siege. A meteor has crashed onto the planet, unleashing millions of alien creatures which are threatening to extinguish all life on the planet. The spirit of humankind is resilient and embodied in the brilliant and beautiful Dr. Aki Ross. Determined and capable, Aki strives as Earth’s last hope against extinction. Fighting both the enemy within and the scheming military, who would destroy the Earth in order to save it, Aki valiantly pursues her Final Fantasy. In English

This series is made possible with the help of Michael Arnold, Apollo Cinema, Kawakita Memorial Film Institute, The Japan Foundation, Planet Bibliotheque de Cinema, Shochiku, Studio Lotus, Swank Motion Pictures, Tezuka Productions, and Toei Co., Ltd.

The Spider and the Tulip, Picadon, Broken Down Film, The Legend of White Snake, Prince of the Sun: Horus’ Great Adventure, and Puss in Boots prints courtesy of The Japan Foundation.