*spoiler-free review*
The sophist dance dance revolution
The Night is Short, Walk on Girl is a bit of a yuasa side-story, like a companion show to The Tatami Galaxy. The artstyle from this show to that one is identical, and that means it's REALLY weird. Much like everything Yuasa directs, it's an artsy project with a lot of love put into it, and despite the restrictions of being a movie, this one does manage to seem as unhinged as ever through the quick, snappy directing and fast monologues.
The Characters are direct copies of the ones in The Tatami Galaxy, but they serve their purpose and get put into different positions. They're all archetypes that express the purest points of their own character tropes straight up. Not a lot goes into characterizing these people in the short amount of time they get to be onscreen, and they cram as many characters in as possible to ensure none get enough meaningful focus.
However, the exaggerated movements of the characters adds to their personality to make up for that, and the main character has some pretty descriptive inner thoughts that do help us get to know him all the same. The characters are the show's weakest aspect unlike its TV series counterpart.
The story isn't special or even very coherent. It starts off fast and ends fast, with a lot of seemingly random events in the middle. The show doesn't feel at all like it has a goal with where the story is going, and that's fine because it doesn't feel like it ends up anywhere either. The resolution comes out of a crazy, over-the-top ending sequence that feels so delightfully trippy, but it's hard to understand and even harder to explain.
Rest of the story is inconsequential a lot of the time and events pass too quickly to leave an impact. I had a hard time commenting on anything meaningful during a group watch besides smaller more noticable details. I was paying attention but I couldn't tell you why the entire cast was eating from the world's spiciest hot pot until suddenly all the books flew away. I couldn't follow it, but Your Milage May Vary.
Sound and Animation are Yuasa quality, and that means quirky and amazing. The visuals are mesmerizingly surreal, even though that's not an aesthetic i like to see constantly, it's used as well as i think it possibly can here besides how i saw it in monogatari, and it really draws you in. The sound and music are great, emphasized in the beginning title sequence which I really wish would have been longer, because that animation and music was DOPE.
The movie is downright silly. It's completely asinine, and I like it for that. The symbolism is there but it's as dumb as it gets. To someone not paying attention it really does seem like a sequence of random, hilarious and outlandish events full of smart/dumb conversations between characters. It gets crazier as it goes on, too. That sophist dance though.
I enjoyed this movie despite its flaws and weaknesses, and would reccomend it to any yuasa fan, provided you watch The Tatami Galaxy first, which makes this movie more charming and less charming in a lot of ways than it might be on its own. A pretty satisfying animated film experience.
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