Shoji
Kawamori’s Spring and Chaos:
The Life of Kenji Miyazawa
Available on DVD from Tokyopop
Review
by : Troy
Brownfield 
Shoji Kawamori stands apart from mere mortal animators; he’s
a creative powerhouse. Creating such towering works as Macross
(yes, he designed the Valkyrie fighters) and Escaflowne,
and rendering designs for other projects like Gundam 0083:
Stardust Memory, Kawamori has carved a path in anime history
that is deep and wide. It should come as no surprise that
a man of his talent and ambition has simply detonate the notions
of what Japanese animation can be in this beautiful and haunting
tribute to the life of beloved Japanese poet Kenji Miyazawa.
A brief
history lesson: Miyazawa was born in 1896 to a well-to-do
family; his father owned a pawnshop. Disillusioned by feelings
that the shop profited on those less fortunate, Miyazawa turned
his attentions to education and art. He was fascinated by
science and European philosophy, writing poetry and fairy
tales (often featuring anthropomorphic animals) that drew
inspiration from those topics. Sadly, Miyazawa only published
two works before he died in 1933. Fortunately for the world,
his work was “discovered” after his death and many other poems
surfaced, including the famous Night on the Galactic Railroad.
(While much of this information is in the DVD material, you
can learn more from The World of Kenji Miyazawa, edited
by Mahito Yamamoto, or by hitting www.g-search.or.jp/kenji).
On its
own merits, the anime Spring and Chaos brilliantly
brings poetry itself to life. While nearly impossible to do
with live actors and conventional film, this technique is
achieved by fierce imagination, shifting vistas, and often
blistering visuals. Multiple animation styles are employed,
including CGI and pencils.
It’s
also striking that Kenji, his family, friends and students
are all depicted as bipedal cats (as if they stepped completely
from one of his fairy tales). The sense of unreality is made
even more acute as the animators show us a gripping sequence
that depicts Miyasawa’s writing process. Gripping a pencil
and notebook with feverish intensity, Kenji composes as a
flight of birds leaps into the air. The birds become flashes
of light, whipping up a storm of wind and color around the
writer, until distraction strikes and inspritation fades.
The scene is a pure classic.
While
Spring and Chaos might not be to everyone’s taste,
it’s a bold attempt to do something different with animation.
It’s fairly brief, but the images will linger in your mind
long after you’ve viewed them. Spring and Chaos won
both the Japan Culture and Art Foundation Award and the 23rd
Cultural Broadcasting Founding Award for “Best TV Entertainment
Program”. Do yourself a favor and find out why.
Troy
Brownfield is the Editor-in-Chief of Shotgun Reviews. Thanks
always to Saam at Tokyopop. Check out their site at Tokyopop.com
for more anime, film and FMW action. Email Troy at psikotyk@aol.com.
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