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Kyousougiga
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:CreationDate: 2016-05-02 10:35:39
:Id: anime/review/kyousougiga
:tags: - anime
- review
:rating: 4.5
:original: https://www.easternkicks.com/reviews/kyousougiga
At the end of the 12th century, near Kyōto, lived the Buddhist monk
Myōe (明恵). Among many other works, he founded the Kōzan-ji temple
(高山寺). Inside that temple is kept the Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga (鳥獣人物
戯画, usually abbreviated to Chōjū-giga), "caricature of animals and
people", a set of scrolls carrying pictures of people and
anthropomorphic animals. These are sometimes described as "the first
manga", although there's plenty of debate about that. They've recently
been brought to the attention of western people via a `short
advertisement <https://denki.marubeni.co.jp/special/>`_ commissioned
to Studio Ghibli by Marubeni Corporation.
.. sidebar:: The many versions
- Kyousougiga was initially a Web-only single episode, published in
2011
- in 2012 5 mini-episodes (between 7 and 15 minutes each) were
added
- the full series ran on TV in 2013, for 10 episodes proper, plus
an introduction, a summary, and a live action episode that
explains the historical events and real-life places that inspired
the story
All of that is history on our world. In the world of Kyousougiga (京騒
戯画, "caricatures of the boisterous capital"), things went a bit
differently.
You see, beside Kyōto, in another reality, is a garish and lively
alternate capital, created by a Myōe who has the ability to give life
to his drawings. His family (Myōe himself, a black rabbit he drew and
named Koto (古都), who thanks to the intercession of the Buddha became
his human wife, and three children, one mostly human, two drawn) moved
into this reality after the people of Kyōto got fed up with having
these not-quite-human people around. In this city there is no death,
no conflict, all days are happy. A prophetic dream of destruction,
though. convinces Myōe and Koto to depart, leaving the city and its
reality in the hands of their children. And, apart from boredom and
loneliness, things would not have changed much.
But some unspecified time later, a young girl called Koto (written in
Kana, コト, not in Kanji like Myōe's wife) crashes through the walls
of reality looking for a black rabbit.
Who's Koto? What is she really doing in the city? Will Myōe's and
Koto's children ever see their parents again? Will they avert the
prophesied destruction? Can such a family ever be truly happy? Who's
Myōe anyway?
Kyousougiga explores themes of family, a creator's responsibility
towards their creatures, and how to create inter-dimensional portals
by hitting a giant remote-controlled mecha with a big magical hammer.
I don't think a review can do justice to this short series: it's
packed full of feelings, and fun, and over-the-top absurdist
action. Every character, including the giant mecha Bishamaru and
Myōe's dog, are charming and well-rounded. The art is clean and
deceptively simple, conveying the unearthly nature of the alternate
reality. The music complements the whole work, the opening song in
particular is very catchy and nicely sets the tone for the story.
You can watch this masterwork by TOUDOU Izumi (東堂 いづみ, Ojamajo
Doremi, Purecure) and MATSUMOTO Rie (松本 理恵) on Cruncyroll
https://www.crunchyroll.com/kyousougiga You should probably skip
episode 0, which may spoil some of the story.
