Mind Game

Contrary to the title, this doesn't so much play with your mind as it rubs its crotch against it furiously and dunks it in an ocean full of hallucinogen. Produced by one of the most innovative animation studios around, Mind Game takes an abstract approach to a theme that a lot of mainstream anime has been promoting to viewers for decades: Don't give up, live life. You see it everywhere, from Naruto to Mobile Suit Gundam to Ghibli. Anime is always reminding you of how short life is; encouraging you to stop watching it and go outside. Stop being self-conscious, act freely, chase your dreams, jump into the melting pot of humanity! Mind Game's humorous approach is through a breezy kind of animation style that isn't afraid to become inconsistent at random moments. The most striking moments are when characters' faces are replaced by actual real life actors, which gives a surreal charm to the whole thing. A reason why I keep thinking of obscure quirky live action Japanese films, like Survive Style Five+, instead of other anime, because that's where Mind Game's sensibilities lie. It is both aware and ignorant of the fact that it's animated, taking full advantage of the medium to show us wonderfully insane visuals, and ignoring it to use a narrative template that is underused in anime-land which is obsessed with plot driving the characters rather than the other way around, and whenever it is the other way around its labelled as 'slice of life'. Not so much slice of life in Mind Game as it is a gigantic bite. We follow Nishi as he hooks up with a childhood sweetheart, we laugh at a violently ugly encounter in a restaurant, we grin stupidly at a loony action scene and spend the long remainder of the film captivated by a couple humans stripped bare, their hearts naked for all to see, and with that freedom enforced on them they're truly able to live life like they never were before. The enforced freedom ultimately has to be taken away, which results in the film's powerful climax which is basically a race for life. A metaphorical dash across the debris of 21st century living; a furious rush that takes everything in the characters to achieve a future full of life and possibilities. Mind Game itself shows the future and possibilities of anime. Another accomplishment for Studio 4C.

This was a 'solid' effort. Fair. Decent. Average. 6 out of 10. There isn't a modest and balanced review for this movie on this site yet, and I feel its fair to those who are interested in it to realize its not the '10 OUT OF 10 FIVE STARS 1000%!!!!' bonanza its been made out to be. However, if you're convinced this movie is just that, don't read on. Despite the title, this isn't a movie that will mess with your head or challenge you to think. It has a very simple message, one that was clearly stated: Live Life. The characters go on a journey that, while being fantastic, ended up feeling like a hollow victory come the climax. You can either blame that on the "reset button" ending or on the fact they chose to send us on acid trips over fleshing out the story. The characters themselves were very much the same as the story. Decent, with some depth, but you could feel as though there was a wealth more to be explored that simply wasn't for one reason or another. Again, more time was given to the exploration of the art. But what about the art? This movie is probably best known for its atypical style and beautifully executed animation. The problem though is its not a matter of execution, its a matter of content. Yes, the animation was expertly done, but the animation itself was a Wal-Mart bargain bin of good, bad, and indistinguishable. In this department, it really relies on the person watching and their preferences. Personally, I found it to be distracting and in some cases, absurd. Basically it should come to this. If you've seen the movie or if you're thinking of watching it, ask yourself this one question..."Did I enjoy it?" . No, don't ask yourself if you 'understood everything' or if you 'appreciated the art'...ask yourself if you truly and honestly 'enjoyed' it. Personally, its not a movie I'll watch again nor a movie I'll forget. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't that one amazing movie that its hyped to be either. It falls in the middle of the road. It was fair. Decent. Average. 6 out of 10.

Mind Game is easily one of my favourite anime movies....all the way through. At first I was a little offput by the art, some scenes work REALLY well...some scenes don't. But seriously, this anime is the best thing I've seen in a LONG time of watching anime. Story: It's a story that you cannot take seriously. There are essentially 3 different scenes in it. All three of them are beautifully executed. The pacing in this movie is also very nice, the few slow scenes are beautifully shown, there's never a single moment of tediousness. Art: " I think that Japanese animation fans today don’t necessarily demand something that’s so polished. You can throw different styles at them and they can still usually enjoy it." -Masaaki Yuasa (director) The art in this is so spaced out, to call it anime would be to really push the border of what anime is and can be. This free, wild form is both beautiful and also sometimes detrimental. There are some scenes that are not beautifully executed, they seem dull and boring, almost lifeless. Whereas others are beautiful, and some are quite hilarious. One of the best scenes involves God. However the best scene, is a love scene. It is worth it to watch the entire anime JUST for this one 3-4 minute scene. I cannot describe to you how beautiful this one scene was to me, you really need to see it for yourself. Sound: The voice actors are magnificent, Niishi is especially great, he's energetic and sounds absolutely crazy half the time. The sound effects are also amazing and the background music incredible as well. Character: To fully get the characters, to fully understand all the relations and dreams of each character this anime needs to be watched at least twice. Almost every character has a detailed story and aspirations. Niishi's dream of being a Manga artist leads to a cute little story. The characters at all time seem human, they seem pliable and three-dimensional. This aspect is so beautifully shown, it's one of the many highlights of this series. I was never let-down during this entire movie. However I would not recommend it to everyone. If you don't have an open mind about what you believe anime is, then don't watch this. This anime is incredibly unique. To use the word "weird" would be an insult to this. I have never seen anything like this, it's an anime that really does a magnificent job at being a beautiful piece of art.

Drizzling rain being seen through the windscreen of a car; A guy running around with wearing a football shirt and a... is that a diaper? A girl gets her leg trapped in the door of a train and flounders around like a fish out of water. From the first random images of "Mind Game" that looks like it was drawn by a 6 year old, I can already tell that it's one of those titles that is no doubt hailed in the spirit of modern art as a mind blowing work of genius by some, and dismissed as more worthless than a pile of steaming dog turd on the pavement by others. If you're one of those people who will eagerly lap up anything that's different just because it's different, then this is one for you to watch. But if, like me, you only like originality when the resulting product is actually good, then I'd recommend you to steer well clear of "Mind Game". No one can deny that the style of "Mind Game" is quite unique, but I for one found it to be obnoxiously pretentious. If I wanted to admire some diabolical scrawl such as this, I can go and ogle at the "masterpieces" that my younger brother drew in school when he was about 10. Or maybe not, since those are probably better drawn than "Mind Game". Underneath the crazy presentation lies a crazy adventure story. Just like the "FLCL" and "Dead Leaves", the crazy bits made me switch off totally, but brushing those issues aside, the rest of the movie (the little there is left) is strangely compelling, and I sometimes found myself totally drawn towards its powerful message of taking risks and living life to the full. The story itself has its moments of worth, and there is a surprising amount of character development. And undeniably, there are some moments of comedy genius (like the bit where the main guy tries to drive the car like James Bond) that had me helpless with laughter, but overall there's just too much crap mixed into this movie for my liking. The ending also sucks bad - if I understood it correctly, then it makes the rest of the movie even less worthwhile. In conclusion, "Mind Game" is certainly an interesting anime in parts, but I don't think those few parts of interest are enough to salvage this wreck of a movie.

I like arty and pretentious anime as much as the anyone. I think Neon Genesis Evangelion, whose seemingly innocuous mecha beginnings give way to stream-of-consciousness psychoanalyzing, is a high-water mark. Confusing or confused, it's worth it. And I'm a huge fan of Satoshi Kon's work, all of which pushes the limits of anime. I enjoy the challenging stuff. So when I read several fairly glowing reviews of Mind Game, I was curious. But I'm not sure if we were all watching the same film. Yes, the art and animation are spectacular, shifting between contrasting styles with grace and ease. It's certainly a visual showcase. Yet none of the reviews mention the aspects I'm going to talk about below; and I'm inclined to think that beyond the artwork, Mind Game is really just art-house by numbers. Fill in the dots between seemingly edgy elements, and you'll have a great piece of cinema. Or not. Take the characters. Nishi is a wannabe Manga-artist. Fine. Myon wanted to be a swimmer until her breasts got in the way. Um, fine. The old man prepares gourmet dinners and talks to his friends, the dinosaurs. Whatever. And Yan wants to be a performance artist and likes nothing more that taping balloons to her chest, covering herself with paint, and throwing herself at canvas. While trapped inside a whale. Er… what? This is all meant to be psychedelic and avant-garde, I suppose. Subtle it isn't. For example: Nishi tells Myon a story about space explorers for whom the only source of food on the planet they were stranded on was alien excrement. But then it turns out that the space explorers were actually on a cell in Myon's body, and they grew larger until being flushed out of her system. You can imagine the details, I'm sure. This charming tale has the inexplicable effect of seducing Myon; I can only suppose that her eyes were so clouded with love that saw in it the unrestrained imagination of her beau, and that the story was meant to have the same effect on the viewer. Personally, I just thought it was tasteless. Duly seduced, Myon and Nishi have sex. Fortunately, there isn't any nudity, as their bodies dissolve into a kaleidoscope of lines, colours and images. Unfortunately, this sequence resembles nothing so much as a 1969 sketch by Monty Python: trains entering tunnels and then crashing, waves lashing against the shore, that sort of thing. Only in the sketch, we ultimately pan away to reveal an inept guy playing the film to his increasingly frustrated girlfriend. See, the Python sketch is a parody. Which says a lot for the sequence in Mind Game. It's as if the whole thing is trying too hard to be different, to be absurd, to be psychedelic. Towards the end all four of the main cast pool their resources to escape, rowing as hard as they can through the water-filled stomach of the whale—until their boat is broken. With only the momentum to carry them forward, they use whatever comes their way as leverage to propel them forwards: bits of wood... fish... a fly... Onwards they run, as the whale swallows successively large objects: a ship, an airplane (which explodes behind them), an office block, which Nishi has to navigate his way through, leaping over tables and through windows… Then finally we see a almost identical stream of images to those which opened the movie, only with slight differences; so whereas at the start Myon caught her foot in the door of an underground train, now she doesn't. This is art-house by numbers again: repeat the same four minutes of footage with minor changes and in so doing give 'meaning' to the changes. What it actually means is not actually the issue; the fact that it's meaningful is all that's important. In the end, Mind Game is a hodgepodge of highbrow and lowbrow; of comments about breast size and toilet jokes combined with literary references and pseudo-symbolism. Perhaps it wants to exploit the contrast in a kind of cinematic magical realism; but in my view it fails completely. Nothing represents the film better than Yan's paint dancing: it wants to be art, but it's mired in vulgarity. Bought, watched, and offered for sale on amazon marketplace before I'd even finished it. __________ Poor; I wish I'd done something better with my time. Its merits are few and far between.

To start, this will be my first review. However, I think this movie deserves it. At first, I was a little like, "Wow...wtf is this?" Moreover, I was baffled, but as you get more into it, you realize it is not something to overthink. Just sit back, laugh, be in awe, and enjoy. By far, one of the best animes I have seen. Story: The story could have gone a little deeper in with the characters and their past, but besides that, it gave you enough to keep up with, and you were not completely baffled by what was going on. All in all, it was pretty good. Art: Now this is what I enjoyed. It was very abstract, very different. It makes you think twice about watching it when you FIRST start it because it is not anything like the usual animes, but if you tough it out for oh...10 minutes or so, you will realize it is quite funny and not so bad. It is different, but not an eyesore. It is drawn in very unusual ways which makes it a lot more interesting. If you have ever seen Yellow Submarine, the movie by The Beatles, I would say this is funky like that; but with a Japanese twist. It is good stuff. Sound: It was not remarkable, but I did not think much about it, either. I honestly did not notice the sound effects as I usually only notice if it is terrible. I did notice that some of the sounds caught my attention as they were a bit strange. All in all, I would say the sound was not good or bad. It just was. Character: The characters were awesome. They were all fascinating, and each one was drawn entirely different, which I thought was terrific. They keep your attention pretty well. Usually, I have my favorites and not so favorites, but I ended up liking all of them equally. Enjoyment: I enjoyed it, to the max. I was on the phone with my friend, and we watched it together. We both ended up rating it a 10, and both loved it. It is something I think everyone should try to watch if they like anime. It is different, and if you have been watching the same usual action, romance, slice of life animes, etc. etc. animes, watching this will be a dramatic change... but a delightful one. I am pleased I watched this, and I wish I could find more movies like it. It was so out of place, and that may be why some people do not watch it because of the appearance. However, looks are deceiving in this scenario. It is honestly a fantastic movie. I think anyone would enjoy. Overall: Different, abstract, funny, confusing, trippy, but it all boils down to...amazing. Absolutely great. Please give it a try if you bothered to read this. Haha. =] (Originally Posted: 6/21/08; Grammar Corrected: 4/3/2019)

Its been 3 year since I started watching Animes and it is the first time i has such a nostalgic feeling. Somewhere along the way, It just became part of my life. Mind game made me realise why I started watching anime. Only in anime can u laugh at a very intense chase scene. The awesomeness of Mind Game is not in this semi-autobiographical Story, But the way it is potrayed, can be potrayed only in anime. The Humorous animation style of the movie is one of the best i have seen with those realistic chunks taking it to a new height. After all it take a genius to create a masterpiece through inconsistency

Whenever a film, animated or otherwise, strives for greatness, said film is always commendable for its pursuit, even if it does not succeed. Such is not the case, however, for Mind Game. This film aims at greatness and, if anything, overshoots it and lands right on masterpiece. Some viewers may be strongly reminded of another film, Tekkon Kinkreet, when watching Mind Game, and this is to be expected. Both films share production houses 4 degrees Celsius and Asmik-Ace, thus explaining similarities in some of the more realistic character designs. Another link, though not as obvious, is that with the extremely surreal experimental feature Cat Soup. Masaaki Yuasa, one of the chief designers and animators for CS, here rises to the occasion as both screenwriter and director. In this manner, Mind Game shares some of Cat Soups mindboggleing energy and imagry, though it's here that the similarities end (as well as all this annoying name dropping). Where Cat Soup was dark and twisted, MG is excitingly free spirited and optomistic, though it's arguably just as convoluted. The film centers around Nishi, a young and timid aspiring manga-kan, who reconnects with his childhood sweetheart, Myon, just as she's preparing to marry another man. Sudden turns-of-events following this reunion work to shake Nishi out of his complaciency, and turn him into the bold, free-spirited man he's always dreamed of being. Together with Myon and her sister, Nishi embarks on an adventure that will lead to the most unlikely of places, where he will learn what it truely means to live. Mind Game's story is fairly simple, though very surprising all the same. There's a significant chang of pace about halfway thru, though the film never for a moment loses its ingenuity or excitement. The second act is in many ways a relaxing look at how to get the most out of life, accompanied by several stunning musical interludes. The in-your-face action of the films first act comes roaring back for the climax though, and I am not exaggerating when I say that it's one of the most exilirating scenes I've ever witnessed (and I was watching it on my ipod first time I saw it)! The ending is definatly for the open minded, as the resolution, and indeed everything that has happened up to that point, is suddenly thrown into question, with plot points rectifying and contradicting themselves in a beautiful, better-not-blink montage that is the film's finale. All together, this is exactly the kind of film I relish, though I'm afraid to say that it most likely is not for mainstream viewers (though if you found satisfaction through the likes of NGE (any of them), than Mind Game shouldn't be beyond your grasp. And even so, the sheer astetic value is enough for anyone to appreciate. Anyone who loves anime should see this film, and will either love it or at least feel justified in seeing it, for it is truly a film like no other.

How common it is to see works trying to tackle as many ideas as possible while failing to actually offer any insight. They display various signifiers for viewers to rejoice in locating, but in the end do virtually nothing with them. Mind Game happily decides for the exact opposite and rides on the simplest of themes, the most universal warm up advice conceived by man: live life to the fullest. What it does with that, however, is of such excellence anyone with minimal appreciation for animation will be astonished. Yuasa has this ability to make every visual facet, however strange, feel deliberate and thoughtful. Not always (Kaiba), but definitely noticeable throughout his career. More noticeable though is his capacity to effortlessly capture emotions through imagery better than most around. Craving, courage, affection, all humanly brought to life in sequences so intense it defies my descriptive capacities. During Nishi's exchange with Myon where he expounds his ideas for a manga very comically and slowly morphs the situation into a moment of intimacy is ingenious. In a movie where the only rule is that of cool, these characters hit home with a heartfelt manifestation of their feelings. The only qualm I have is the dip in ambiguity at the end that felt a tad overdone. But that is only felt when credits roll, for before I am too engrossed to care even for a second. Mind Game is a relentless exercise of spectacle in favor of a simple message that is thoroughly explored, and as such it's deeply satisfying.

Well this is my first review & its my honor to write this for you. First let me state that I watched this under the influence of Psilocybin. That being said, I came into this movie not knowing what to expect. I thought I wasn't going to enjoy it but it began in a very eccentric manner. The artwork was so free & creative, the emotions in the art & characters voices took me by storm. It depicts every aspect of humanity, both good & bad. That is easily my favorite trait about this film, its relatable to real life. The plot was so original, it has very important lessons that one can take from this. It gives you a general perspective on possibilities through certain actions & highlights the fact that you & you alone are in control of your life. The cinematic feel it brings along with it indubitably make this a masterpiece. I have tried my very best to write this review without any spoilers & still give you an idea of what to expect, much love. I hope you enjoy this film as much as I did.

Story 9.1/10 A collection of barely likeable characters made even more ugly by the capricious use of random animation techniques. An innappropriate use of Matsumoto Taiyou-esque designs in a flat, out-of-place world of disconnected and hardly appropriate thoughts. Like it's soundtrack; a jazzy, infuriated rush through a dreamland of improvised gamery. A voidless explosion of creativity, unbound by rational thought and sequence. Enacted and enjoyed on a whim. A dream. A game. A mental jongleur. In the end a frantic but successful grasp at the unrealistic. Like the parent on the carosel, the dick clasped between the legs, reality calmly waits at the sideline for the party to finish and the cast to rap themselves up. And it does so in a gracious yet pumpingly real pinacle which makes us remember our lives as the dust on the breeze; and to forget the 'gravity' of our vices. We will continue in a beautiful rythm until... it's over. So many metonyms and so much hidden meaning, though never cleverly enacted, produce a satisfying feeling. Perhaps it just makes us feel clever, even, at the same time as feeling completely irrelevant. Maybe that was it. Whatever it was, it's likeable whilst not really likeable at all. It had what many in this genre don't which is a firm grasp on reality, and for that we have to thank it; for bringing us down a notch. Animation 6/10 Sometimes inspiring, sometimes abnoxious. The worst parts of Trapeze and the best of Tekkon Kinkreet. Intense but lacklustre. Vivid but pathetic. But fitting. Sound 9/10 Warm and colourful. Jazzy, sound, again fitting. Good voice actors and well mixed. Characters 7/10 Shallow but representative. Overall 8.9/10 An expression of relentless hope engulfed in a terrifying seran-wrap of understandable insanity.

This is the first review I am ever writing, and my english should maybe be better for writing such thing, but I just have to say what i think about this movie! I will describe this movie in 3 words, and they are: Hilarious, colorful and odd! I havent seen anything like this before and it was very weird sometimes, but one thing is clear, you never get bored while watching this movie. I love the scene when God (Kami-sama) is arriving, he is changing faces and voices all the time and i loled my ass off when i saw him/her... X3 God was without any doubt the best character in the whole movie! I did not like the end very much though, but i hope there will be a "Mind Game 2" very soon, it would make me happy ^_^ it reminded me very much about Pinocchio and Fantasia, but it was very unique at the same time... I promise, you will never find any movie like this even if you are looking for it your entire lifetime! A pure 10/10, but it deserved more. In other words, i loved it and will always do :3

Story: There are a couple parts that aren't really meant to be understood, but the story is entertaining and it causes both you and the characters to appreciate the vast possibilities we're given in life. 8/10 Art: The climactic scene of this movie probably has the strongest blend of amazing creativity, odd beauty, and intensity of anything I've ever seen! :D The rest of the movie also looks pretty cool visually, but it does take some getting used to. 9/10 Sound: The music is successful at calming you down, weirding you out, or building up excitement according to what each scene is going for. There are some unusual sound effects but they all fit fine with the movie. 8/10 Character: Most of them are interesting. The characters definitely aren't this movie's strong point but they still do manage to get the job done better than those in plenty of other anime. 6/10 Enjoyment: Very unique, charming, and memorable. 9/10 Overall: 8/10

Mindgame, I can say, has nothing to do with its name. You can sit back and relax while watching this. It doesn't make you struggle to understand, or it does not make you stop and watch like crazy as in the -monogatari series and call it art. When you watch this, you will understand that this piece was made without being worried about appreciation. There is no struggling to be sophisticated either. The story, as I said, flows with no restrictions. It suddenly takes you in, you feel like you are one of them, you do not find anything odd in this strange plot. The art is excellent with the sound, character development is great, and I guarantee that you will enjoy this if you do not have any prejudices towards it. I loved the god symbolism, pretty good. Finally, it is quite amazing to witness how this anime describes life to you with tons of little views, tons of them. I don't want to give detail but you'll see, and understand. 9/10.

The universe is a fucking big thing. Our Planet is a tiny little sphere in a tiny little corner of a mid-seized galaxy. And on this planet there are billions of people. People, each with a ghost and a mind of their own. Some of them are as tiny as our little planet. Others are bigger than our galaxy. Kind of a hard knock in your face to begin with, hm? Catch your breathe, this was only "um die Spreu vom Weizen zu trennen" (german for sorting out the good wheat from the rubbish). Mind Game is a move about life and imagination and as one can see when this anime is rated with 7.something not everyone gets that. But if you weren`t knocked away from this review by that little punch above... I'm sure you will get it. This Movie is about a young man who frees himself from the chains of fear that keep his actions in his head and hinders him from doing anything he really wants. Then he dies and meets god. You should see this. Honestly. And then the ride begins. I think it`s around 90 mins of avantgarde animation so wild you could think you are on drugs. But you don`t need to and if you will your brain surely won't be able to get along with the subtle and at the same time fast-paced story telling. Trust me. I tried. Mind Game is another Masterpiece 4°C studio. They do all kind of artsy short movies collected in different packages like Genius Party or Animatrix but Mind Game is my all time favourite. Here you get the typicall diversity of 4°C all packed in a big philosophical statement about life, about fantasy and about love. It`s so beautifull and disturbing. Just like life is. I watched this movie 10times plus and I still get new ideas from it, for my own art and for my own thoughts. This movie is so fucking special. One of my roomates suffers from minor social phobia and the depression that comes hand in hand with it. Last time when she was awake for 2 days and still couldn`t sleep I watched this movie together with her. She laughed and loved it. And she was so inspired by the main characters will to fight. Then we went both to bed and she is still fighting. I stop this review here. I'm crying T.T. Thank you universe... for this movie!

The idea of the movie is nothing new. "Live your life to the fullest!" "Never give up!" etc. We hear these a lot actually. And one may see it as a mere commonplace. But then again, the topic is important. Especially to us - anime fans... I kid, I kid. However, the real reason why Mind Game was 1 hour 44 minutes well spent is how the movie executes the idea. It reeks of originality. The same old story about the meaning of life and how you must take advantage of each opportunity no matter how small it is to reach your ultimate goal bursting through every struggle and obstacle you find in your path and never looking back is presented with quite hilarious symbols, situations and characters. I had a lot of different emotions throughout the movie. The scene in the cafe at the beginning made me laugh so hard that any anime or other media I've seen this year was no where close. The epic car chase got my blood boiling like I was watching some action movie. And my reaction to almost everything in Mind Game from the beginning to the end was like "OMG, they did not just...." Everything was shocking: random actions of each character, different characters they meet, amazingly hilarious shots etc. That's why I think it was so good. It kept my brain and different emotions tingling for a couple of hours. The art is the first thing you will gonna see as ultimately unique. All the characters and surroundings are deformed but detailed at the same time. What I and probably most of the people who watched the movie loved the most about art is the real actor faces replacing drawn faces at important moments. I thought Onizuka's expressions were the best you can find in anime, but Mind Game's way of doing it is on par. It's hard to make a potential viewer imagine the art of Mind Game with words. You really need to just see it. I will actually be bold and say that every anime fan should watch this movie just to see the way it is drawn. It's just that impressive. There were only few characters in the movie. The main ones were developed quite well. I liked the distinction between inner and outer Nishi. It led to a different feel about the character. How confused he is (or was...) and shyness was and obstacle in his life. And the whole story was about change in Nishi after his visit in the heaven. Other characters were quite shallow and generic. But some of them were extremely wacky and that spiced the show quite a bit. Overall, I'd say that Mind Game is a movie that I will remember forever for it's boldness, innovation and letting me be amazed by ridiculous, yet meaningful scenes throughout the movie.

This is what happens when you take wild, untamed ambition and boundless imagination and toss them into a simmering cauldron for it just to boil over and into your goddamn eyes like a concentrated dose of animated LSD. Very much a kaleidoscopic head-fuck, Yuasa's MIND GAME is a film about seizing the moment and coming to terms with your own self, but it's also about the ceaseless mythos of human emotion and connection - lives on top of lives on top of lives. Decisions that shape us happen long before we're born, and the ones we make will mold others long after we're gone, our stories neverending. Possibilites abound, and MIND GAME suggests that every one is a story worth living and that is so unabashedly optimistic I might just fucking break down and cry.

This movie really impressed me when I first watched it. The art is not overhyped, the art is every bit as stunning and maniacally beautiful as everyone tells you it is, the voice acting and music is absolutely perfect. The flow of situations, even simple ones, is absolutely madcap and helps imbue a broad emotional appeal to the limited focus of the story, which is essentially one man's struggle to embrace life. The story is indeed emotionally compelling on some level no matter who you are, but I think it has its limitations and that's what you might see focused on by some of the contrarian detractors of this film, which has received no shortage of praise and acclaim. And they're not wrong. We might thrill at points to see a protagonist conquer self-loathing and even death, meet God and emerge from the belly of a whale to live a better life, but there's something disappoiintingly simplistic about such a story. Sometimes you can't simply live life. Sometimes you just live miserably for most or all of the time until you die, whether or not you intervene to change that situation. I actually love optimistic storytelling, but a story that lacks understanding of this fundamental reality will always have a tinge of disappointment to it as it crafts an optimism that seems flimsy when held up before reality. There was also a little crass sexual humor that I could have done without. It was by no means the worst I've seen in anime, and I don't view it as having spoiled the movie, but it's the type of thing that will make you squirm in discomfort when showing it to other people or even just viewing it yourself. I only seek to review the movie realistically though. Nothing I've said changes the fact that this film is a tremendous artistic accomplishment, and if its frenetically delivered emotional message gives you the spark of hope you need to live a better life, more power to you. See it.

Movie Review No.6 Mind Games is a very weird show about the “Game of Life”. Directed by Yuasa, Masaaki, the guy popularly known for using weird art style but one the few active directors in modern times that have amazing talents. This is anime is so crazy that the creators might have smoke weeds before they made it but that’s a joke. In reality this is how Yuasa make his shows which give the titles he made with novelty. Moving to the main review of the show. Art (8/10) (+) For starters the thing you will remember about Mind Games very clearly is the uncanny background and character design. The anime don’t follow the traditional or the mainstream style most anime to date uses a lot. The unnatural atmosphere of the movie made a good advantage in portraying good cinematography and artistic expression towards the show. It really works well in the psychological and dementia themes. And because of the art style it is more easily to distinguish on when it’s trying to become funny and serious just by looking at the intensity of the colors and how the shape and imagery moves from one frame to another. Music (6/10)(+) For the music there isn’t much to say. The music did perfectly fine in the show’s atmosphere. It did a good job in setting up the mood but is the OST worth remembering? In my personal taste not really. (Might have possible spoilers) Characters (6/10) (+)(+) For the Characters they are just all right. Personally I don’t see the characters really special or worth remembering. They are indeed flesh out enough for them to have some depth but because of small time and how the plot work out towards the end, all their struggles and conflict is put to waste deleting the possibility of progression. And why is the show didn’t have any progression towards the end you can always blame Kami-sama of the show for that. Plot (7/10) (+)(+) The message of Mind Games is pretty simple. Live your Life to the fullest and everything will be alright as long as you have a positive attitude and enthusiasm. It’s pretty amazing from the start and from the end this is what the story is trying to represent without using any long and pretentious dialogues. The characters here clearly do what they say. If they are going to live life in a crazy way they really going to do it with style. The Romance part here is pretty decent because the main character have a pay-off on his old childhood. But sadly the biggest drawback of the story is the finale. (Warning this part has Spoilers) On Personal Enjoyment I can say Mind Games is a good for watch show. This type of themes is really obscure you literally won’t find this anime every day and unless you deepen the search in the medium you won’t know the title even existed. In my last statement while the finale is a mess is because there is no actual ending everything got set to zero again and the last information you will get is that the story has no real ending meaning we are down the conclusion those everything that happen really matters or does Yuasa is just playing around in our minds like sort of a game? If you think it critically the show is playing with our minds, our ideals, our believes and many more that conflicted in our lives. Having this kind of idea did mind games did what its supposed to do on its audience? Is everything just an illusion? Is God like to play with our primitive lives that always get repeated from every generation? Mind Games is open to self-explanatory about the “Game of Life”. Everybody can draw their meaning according to the type of life they have. Overall (6.5/10)…….Near to (7/10) Mind Games is not appealing to everyone on its concept and others might get even confused. Mind Games is Highly recommended for people that is open minded to the theme concerning about the complexity of life while having a very bizarre atmosphere while drawing it. Recommendation: Another similar concept of Mind Games is “Tatami Galaxy” directed by the same director. Tatami Galaxy is improve version of Mind Games with deeper and comprise themes and a desirable conclusion. I highly recommend it if you are looking for obscure type of shows.

Thank you, Nana, for introducing me to Mind Game. Yes, believe it or not, I found this film while nosing through my nan's Netflix queue after she left it open. "Mind Game? Isn't that an anime movie? She must've put that in there by mistake...come to think of it, I didn't know that was on Netflix. I remember reading reviews saying it was really good..." STORY (10/10): The film starts out slow and slice-of-life-y...luckily, this only lasts for about 10 minutes. (Even from then, the artwork will tell you that this is no ordinary film.) The rest of the film is one of the most compelling stories I've ever seen in fiction. ART (10/10): Using my normal judging, the artwork is probably not worth a 10. It is very simplistic and even goes into the bizarre choice of using human faces at times. However, something about it just works. I can't explain what, but the film uses its simplistic artwork in amazing ways. Trying my best to avoid spoilers, I'm going to give a very minor one: there is sex in the film. It is very trippy, and perhaps the most beautifully-portrayed sex I've seen in all of media. If Hollywood would do all their sex scenes like this, I would have no complaints. SOUND (9/10): The music didn't really get my attention until later in the film - it really works well with certain scenes, though. I was surprised to find out later that Watanabe of Cowboy Bebop fame was the music director. He had great music in Bebop, and that doesn't change here. The voice acting is very good, no voices felt out of place. (I watched this in Japanese with English subtitles, as there is no English dub available as of this writing.) CHARACTER (10/10): Somehow, Yuasa has crafted a story where I care about and love every single main character. In the course of 103 minutes, I began to feel attached to these characters in a way some 26-episode anime fail to do. Bravo. ENJOYMENT (10/10): I was planning on only watching part of the film last night, since it was like 2am when I started it. That didn't happen. No matter what, I could not find a stopping place or peel my eyes away from Mind Game. This is a feeling I rarely get with entertainment, and I'm very pleased when it happens. OVERALL (10/10): I debuted on what score to give Mind Game for a while - it has a handful of flaws, and the unique style certainly isn't for everyone. However, based on how captivated and charmed I was by the film, I decided to award it a 10. I highly recommend all anime fans at least try out Mind Game - it's on Netflix, after all. Even if you don't like it, you can say you've expanded your horizons and watched something quite a bit outside the norm.