The Burning Buddha Man (2013)
Posted: 14 Oct 2013, 11:50
Missed in Yubari, but caught in cinema thanks to a friend's recommendation. Brief review:
The Burning Buddha Man (2013)
Debut director Ujicha animation gem is bound to be the year’s most unique cinematic experience.
The storyline begins when the young Beniko discovers her parents have been brutally slain with half of their torsos missing. It turns out the sculptors are some kind of terrorists who steal Buddha statues to protect them. The hits are done using a teleport, however, failed attempts result in both the statue and any living begins close to them being transported and reconstructed into mutated man-stone statues. After a mysterious monk takes Beniko under his protection she is introduced to a world of bizarre monsters and spiritualism.
The brief summary above is only the starting point in the film that gets increasingly imaginative. No less unusual is the technical execution, which utilizes cardboard characters moved against hand-made backgrounds in front of a camera. The style is known as gekimation, and hasn’t been used in cinema for decades. It takes a while to get used to, but works wonderfully. A moody soundtrack completes the package. Live action scenes are utilized for the opening and closing sequences, featuring popular anime seiyu Yuka Iguchi who voices the main character.
Trailer (which isn't half as good as the film):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tG32FNc1Fdk
The Burning Buddha Man (2013)
Debut director Ujicha animation gem is bound to be the year’s most unique cinematic experience.
The storyline begins when the young Beniko discovers her parents have been brutally slain with half of their torsos missing. It turns out the sculptors are some kind of terrorists who steal Buddha statues to protect them. The hits are done using a teleport, however, failed attempts result in both the statue and any living begins close to them being transported and reconstructed into mutated man-stone statues. After a mysterious monk takes Beniko under his protection she is introduced to a world of bizarre monsters and spiritualism.
The brief summary above is only the starting point in the film that gets increasingly imaginative. No less unusual is the technical execution, which utilizes cardboard characters moved against hand-made backgrounds in front of a camera. The style is known as gekimation, and hasn’t been used in cinema for decades. It takes a while to get used to, but works wonderfully. A moody soundtrack completes the package. Live action scenes are utilized for the opening and closing sequences, featuring popular anime seiyu Yuka Iguchi who voices the main character.
Trailer (which isn't half as good as the film):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tG32FNc1Fdk