This review might contain spoilers. You may proceed if you can handle the truth...

Matsuo Bashō: Fuyu no Hi, 1684.

The three phrases with seventeen syllables of the above verse are the typical characteristics of a short poem, originally from Japan, called haiku. At the end of the 19th century, the writer and critic Masaoka Shiki, a significant figure in the development of modern haiku poetry, popularized the term. Prior, it was known as hokku, the opening stanza of a Japanese orthodox linked verse poem, renku. One of the masters of renku poetry was the 17th-century Japanese poet Matsuo Bashō. Contrary to other artists, he was well-respected, famous and successful during his lifetime. Nowadays, many scholars consider him one of the best haiku writers, even though he saw his strength in linking renku verses.

Winter Days (Fuyu no Hi), directed by Kihachirou Kawamoto, is a film adaptation of Bashō and his disciples' self-titled 1684 renku, one of seven poetry anthologies collecting their linked verse poems. In Kawamoto's penultimate movie before he died in 2005, he created two shorts for the second and last stanza with his well-known puppet animation style. For the remaining 34 couplets, he asked different top animators around the world to contribute animated shorts with a minimum length of 30 seconds for their assigned verse. In total, 35 sundry artists worked on this film anthology. Furthermore, they crafted 40 minutes' worth of animation, whereby the two-minute work by the Russian animator Yuri Norstein for the hokku is the longest one in the collection.

For the sake of the review's length and the reader's engagement, I will not write about any individual work. Instead, I will cover my general impression. This decision may upset a few readers, but I think the majority neither have the interest nor the motivation to read too much about such an obscure movie.

Anyways, a prevalent issue for film anthologies is the inconsistency in the quality since not every artist puts the same effort and time into their segment. However, this project is one of the few exceptions where the viewer can see and feel each animator's dedication. Each entry captures the essence of the corresponding renku verse excellently. The distinct art styles and various animation styles, including but not limited to cut-out, traditional cel, paint-on-glass, pinscreen and CGI, justify the existence of each short. Moreover, the variety in the artistic and emotional expressions keeps the movie engaging, and the next segment stays highly anticipated. Despite the picture's lack of spoken dialogue, every work has a majestic classical music score and decent selected sound effects to compensate for it.

To summarize, the film anthology Winter Days is an unprecedented, skilful and inspiring fusion of animation and poetry. Although not everybody likes artistic movies, every anime fan, from casual to devoted, should watch the collection of shorts because of its short runtime. Unfortunately, no streaming service offers the picture at the point of writing. If you get the chance to see it in the future, do not hesitate.