Tuesday, July 13, 2010

"Ready or Not.......Here I Come".....

Kakurenbo premiered in March 2005 at the Tokyo International Anime Fair, where it won the award for Notable Entry in the General Category. In Korea, it received a Best Film Nomination at the Seoul Comics and Animation Festival. It then went on to win Best Short film at the Fantasia Festival in Montreal.

Kakurenbo: Hide & Seek (カクレンボ, Kakurenbo, lit. "Hide and Seek") is a Japanese cel-shaded anime short film written and directed by Shuuhei Morita.

The film is based around "Otokoyo", a game of hide and seek played by children near the ruins of an abandoned old city. The children who play this disappear, believed to be spirited away by demons. Kakurenbo follows Hikora, a boy who joins the game with hopes of finding his missing sister. The story line is built on the idea that Tokyo is losing its natural aesthetic, which includes child's games such as hide and seek in order for industrial progress to ensue i.e. lighting the city of Tokyo costing innocence of childhood games.

Characters

Hikora (ヒコラ)- The young boy who plays the game to find his missing sister. At the end, he wins the game and becomes the new host for Oni.
Sorincha (ソリンチャ)- Hikora's sister. In the film it is implied that she is the oni although it is never proven.
Yaimao (ヤイマオ)- Hikora's best friend who plays the game to lend a hand in finding Sorincha. He is taken by the Child Taker.
Noshiga (ノシガ)- The leader of his little gang who claims is not afraid of demons. He is taken by the Blood Taker.
Tachiji (タチジ)- One of the members in Noshiga's gang. He has blond hair and wears glasses. He, along with Suku, is taken by the Liver Taker.
Suku (スク)- Another member of Noshiga's gang. He is short and has a large, red scarf. He, along with Tachiji, is taken by the Liver Taker.
Inmu (インム) and Yanku (ヤンク)- Twin brothers whose reason for playing is a mystery. They are both taken by the Oil Taker.

Demons

Once the eight children pass through the gates to enter the abandoned street, they are pursued by four different demons and then finally by the one who is "it".

Kimotori (肝取り). The liver taker (a strange red humanoid)
Chitori (血取り). The blood taker (a horned lion that wears a tarp over its back)
Aburatori (油取り). The oil taker (two small, identical demons, one sitting on a cart, and the other pulling said cart)
Kotori (子取り). The child taker ( spider-like demon with eight arms)
Oni ("it"). The demon, or ogre. It takes the form of Hikora's sister and wears a fox mask, which changes into an oni mask that the person who is "it" wears. Its true face is never seen. Oni means the one who is "it" in tag.

This film is roughly 25min. in length and is perfect for those who enjoy animation and suspension with a twist of horror. While there are a lot of Japanese films/animations directed towards children, the true nature of anime is directed towards adults. This film wouldn't be a wise choice to show too young children as it would probably give them nightmares.

I love this film. Hands down, one of my favorite C.G.I Japanese anime animations I've ever seen. (I had this movie a while ago, then at some point I lost it, so hopefully I'll be able to find it again at AnimeIowa, but it's doubtful. Trying to sift through all of the other animes is a pain in the ass.) I've always been in love with the more sinister side of Hide & Seek, adding demons to the mix is just brilliant. In the film, though it isn't proven, it is strongly hinted that the missing children, found at the end of the game, after being used to light up the city, die after their life force(used to light the city) is used up.

Anyone who has yet to see this film is strongly urged to do so, it is a fantastic film, and is well worth sparing the 25min.


"Now You Are It",
Akumu