Dead Leaves

As a biiig fan of Imaishi, Dead Leaves is (as of writing this) the anime I've seen more times than any other and in the running for my favorite movie overall. It feels like a perfect distillation of everything I love about his style and what places him among my favorite anime staff.

It is driven by its striking aesthetics and simple themes first and foremost. People often say it has bad writing/narrative, but I think that's missing the point and missing what makes this film uniquely special. To be clear, this movie is made for non-stop frenetic chaos. The moments it steps away from the insane action or other wild spectacle to deliver narrative elements are as dense and brief as they possibly can be, to the point where it can become difficult to follow the cryptic backstory of the characters and world from the mix of sensory overload and limited information. This is done intentionally, as evidenced by the fact that Retro, one of the two protagonists, perpetually reacts to these moments in such a way as to almost explicitly say to the audience, "It doesn't matter if you didn't get that, just forget about it and have a good time."

The result of this is 45 minutes of constant engagement, flavored with themes of rebellion against authority and care-free enjoyment of life. The core of Retro and Pandy's adventure is an abandonment of the bigger picture for the sake of protecting and reveling in the here and now. What better realization of those ideas could there be than a narrative that both avoids traditional structure to place emphasis on experiential engagement, and is focused on characters who can't remember their pasts and ultimately decide that doing so isn't worth worrying about?

One of the other things I particularly enjoy about this movie is how unapologetic it is about letting its crassness and perversion seep into every corner of its world. Simple-minded gags about farts, dicks, and jizz are this film's bread and butter, continuing the theme of rebellion against a society that likes to pose maturity as something removed from our base pleasures. As these elements are themselves tools utilized in the film as a means of fighting against oppressors, there is a beautiful unity between the content of its themes and the context of its role in the media-sphere.

Of course, if you don't resonate with the themes or aesthetics of Dead Leaves, this probably is not the film for you. If you're on the fence, just look up some screenshots - it's so upfront with its intentions that you'll know where you stand immediately. Personally, everything about it is right up my alley, and it appeals to me more than any of Imaishi's other works.