Mind Game (film)
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| Mind Game マインド・ゲーム |
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| Directed by | Masaaki Yuasa |
| Produced by | Eiko Tanaka |
| Written by | Robin Nishi Masaaki Yuasa |
| Starring | Koji Imada as Nishi (voice) Sayaka Maeda as Myon (voice) Takashi Fujii as Jiisan (voice) |
| Music by | Fayray |
| Distributed by | Asmik Ace Madhouse |
| Release date(s) | July 28, 2004 (Cine Quinto) |
| Running time | 103 minutes |
| Language | Japanese |
| IMDb profile | |
Mind Game (マインド・ゲーム?) is a Japanese animated feature film based on the comic by Robin Nishi. It was written and directed by Masaaki Yuasa and animated primarily by Studio 4°C.[1] It is unusual among features other than anthology films in utilising a series of disparate visual styles to tell one continuous story. As the director commented in a Japan Times interview, "Instead of telling it serious and straight, I went for a look that was a bit wild and patchy. 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."[2]
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[edit] Plot
Nishi is a young loser who wishes to be a comic book artist. He has always had a crush on a busty childhood friend, Myon. They lose contact spanning a period of time up until Myon is to be married. When they meet each other again at her parent's restaurant, to see Myon's father and sister and talk about old times, two yakuza enter the restaurant asking for money that Myon's father owes them.
Nishi gets killed in a shameful way, the yakuza goon winds up shoving his gun up Nishi's rear end and pulling the trigger, and goes to heaven, where he argues with God. He then manages to escape, go back in time, rescue Myon and her sister and run away from the yakuza stealing their car. After a high speed chase and a consequent jump off a bridge their car gets swallowed by a whale. During the symbolic and metaphorical time inside the cetacean (there is a reference to Carlo Lorenzini's Pinocchio), they experience personal development and growth and have to face their problems and insecurities. They eventually escape from the whale, followed by a lengthy montage, similar to that of the opening credits, showing many possible futures for each of the four characters. We then return to the very first scene of the film, with Myon running from the Yakuza. Only this time, she does not get her leg caught in the door of the train, suggesting yet another possible series of events. The movie ends ambiguously, with the phrase "This Story Has Never Ended" before the credits roll.
[edit] Characters
Nishi Nishi is the protagonist of the film and appears from the very first scenes. He is an aspirant mangaka who wishes to marry Myon, but his lack of self confidence and his insecurities prevent him from achieving any of these results. That is until his life changes drastically, being killed by the yakuza Atsu he meets God. He then gains the possibility of a second chance, living life to its fullest.
Myon Myon is Nishi's childhood sweet-heart who has recently become engaged. Myon and Nishi lost track of one another as they grew older. Myon appears to be aware of Nishi's crush on her when they are reunited, but is disappointed by Nishi's lack of confidence. Myon works at her father's yakitori restaurant with her sister. She was a swimming champion during high school, but eventually she grew up and her breasts became too big, as a consequence she could not carry on with that activity and gave up.
Yan She is Myon's sister, and she is responsible for the restaurant. She is very different from Myon, both physically and psychologically. Being the older sister, she felt compelled to be the one to take responsibility in the family and to look after Myon, but really she was the one who wanted to be helped in the first place. This is revealed by Myon in the last scenes of the film, right before escaping from the whale.
Ryo Ryo is Myon's new boyfriend. He drives a truck and is confident about his physical strength. Even so, his presence in the restaurant during the yakuza incursion is not of any help, revealing himself a fake in two occasions. In the same scene, he tries to punch Atsu, but his attack is easily avoided by his opponent, and as he falls down we can see he's wearing a toupee.
Yakuza boss He talks at the phone with Nishi during the car chasing scene. He represents the classical image of a Japanese Yakuza boss: rich, wearing several rings and gold necklaces, stroking a little pet in a huge business office.
Yakuza He's a member of the yakuza, companion of the violent football player Atsu. His name is never revealed, Atsu refers to him as aniki (lit. "brother", in Japanese. In this context it is specifically a term used by Yakuza to refer to each other). In the first part of the film, after Atsu's excess of violence, the unamed Yakuza shoots his "brother" with no remorse.
Atsu Atsu is an arrogant yakuza with an anger management problem. He's very athletic, and he plays in the Japanese national soccer team, during all the scenes of the film, he wears the number 10 T-shirt.
In the first reality of the film he kills Nishi after trying to rape Myon, he then gets killed by his companion, because of his excessive behaviour.
In the second reality he's instantly killed by Nishi.
Father of Myon and Yan He had debts with the yakuza and left his family dealing with the problems he created, he spends his time away from home having fun with young women and gambling. It is because of his reckless and selfish behaviour that his entire family will be in danger. Regardless of all that, he does not reveal himself when the situation worsens. In the alternative version, after Nishi's rebirth, he will be left alone in the restaurant to deal with the yakuza and his problems.
[edit] Credits
Voice cast
- Koji Imada — Nishi
- Sayaka Maeda — Myon
- Takashi Fujii — Jiisan
- Seiko Takuma — Yan
- Tomomitsu Yamaguchi — Ryou
- Toshio Sakata — Father of Myon and Yan
- Joji Shimaki — Yakuza boss
- Rintarou Nishi — Yakuza
- Kenichi Chujou — Atsu
Writing credits
- Robin Nishi — original story
- Robin Nishi — original comic
- Masaaki Yuasa — screenplay
Original music
- Fayray
- Yōko Kanno (additional music)
- Seiichi Yamamoto
Editing
- Keiko Mizuta
- Kyoko Mizuta
Art direction
- Tōru Hishiyama
- Toru Hishiyama
Other crew
- Kōji Morimoto — animation director
- Shinichiro Watanabe — music producer
Production companies
- Studio 4°C
- Asmik Ace Entertainment
- Beyond C.
- Rentrack Japan Co. Ltd.
Distributors
Other companies
- Gainax – animation
- Production I.G – animation
Festivals/Awards
- 2005 Mainichi Film Awards: Winner, Ofugi Award
- 2004 Japan Media Arts Festival: Winner, Grand Prize (beating out Howl's Moving Castle)
[edit] External links
- Mind Game at the Internet Movie Database
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