Anyone who has read my reviews knows that I glowed about the Tatami Galaxy some 10 months ago, gushing about how magically it wove its story and gradually developed each character through a slightly different lens with each episode. Now, all those months later, I revisited that world with The Night is Short, Walk on Girl. I had mixed feelings as the movie ran on. On one hand, I loved the return to this setting and style of storytelling that I adore so much. Seeing returning characters and new takes on old characters was incredible, especially with the way a similar story was told in an entirely new way. But on the other hand, I felt as if the narrative was much less tightly woven. Certain gags felt like they overstayed their welcome, some parts of the story didn't feel as rewarding, and so on. But more of that analysis later as we dive into the review and, as usual, I will be diving into spoiler territory beyond the favorite character section, though my conclusion is spoilerless.

Visually, The Night is Short, Walk on Girl checks all the boxes, smashes them, even. Like its spiritual prequel, it splashes style and character all over your screen. On top of simply being gorgeous to look at, the animation is so fluid and well choreographed. There's no time that you'll ever think that a shot isn't stunning or feel as if there isn't something to look at on the screen, something that can be quite upsetting sometimes because trying to catch rapid pace dialogue and the eyecandy on screen can be quite the workout sometimes. If you're easily sold on visual style, this movie is most definitely for you:

Musically, The Night is Short, Walk on Girl delivers in pretty much every way you could imagine. No, it doesn't have a banger soundtrack or will blow your pants off (or underwear). However, it is most definitely put to fantastic use. The first scene that comes to mind where the soundtrack is put to use like this is the girl's drink off, where it switches the music from dark and depressing to light and hopeful as it pits the girl's and Rihaku's ideals against each other and while they are having a drinking contest, the music is having a similar battle. It's a really cool contrast and one of the scenes that really stood out to me musically. As a last point, the ending song by ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION, "Kouya wo Aruke" I personally thought was extraordinary and very fitting within the movie's story, but I see that a lot of others thought it was rather weak and boring. To each their own, I suppose.

Favorite Character: School Festival Executive Head

I won't go into specifics too much on his specific character, other than the fact that I really liked his design and thought his whole section was funny. I mostly do this because I believe that The Night is Short, Walk on Girl is less about the individual characters and more about how they interact and what stories they create together. It's not really about one single character. Sure, we have our two main characters, but it's as much Higuchi's, Hanuki's, and Pantsu's story too and that's not even an exhaustive list.

If I was forced to give my interpretation of the message I took out of The Night is Short, Walk on Girl, it would be that it's about time and learning to leap into the unknown where we don't know if a good or bad outcome awaits us. I really resonated with the time message first and foremost. We first truly encounter it when the girl crashes the former rhetoric club's reunion party. They lament about how time moves slower for her than for the rest of them, that to them, time flies by and the end that seems already ever so close, draws nearer ever faster, while our raven haired heroine lives in the present, unfettered by time ticking away. We again encounter it at the end of the movie, when a cold has swept through the town and our former antagonist, Rihaku lies on his 'deathbed' seeing his life as worthless, all the time he had spent useless and without consequence, all the while watching his clock speed towards its inevitable end. It's a really powerful statement of perspective, where, in both cases, the girl is able to reassure the two parties and return them to the present, where time moves the same for everyone and everyone is equal.

The second theme of jumping into the unknown struck me less so, even though it could be argued that it's the main theme of the movie. I guess, from my perspective, The Night is Short, Walk on Girl spent less time developing this theme. There's the girl's exploits throughout the night, which highlight this theme from a bird's eye view, and the climactic act that really make a run at this theme.

To me, there was simply not enough devoted to developing this theme. The climax is relatively out of nowhere and not nearly satisfying enough due to its fever dream nature. Don't get me wrong, it's still powerful in its own way, but it didn't feel satisfying in the same way as other explored themes or storylines that preceded it, for instance Pantsu's love story was a far more engaging plotline than the climax due to how underwhelmingly it got resolved, at least in my opinion.

With all of that being said, I loved watching The Night is Short, Walk on Girl. Sure, I don't think it's comparable to the masterpiece that is the Tatami Galaxy, but few anime are in my eyes. However, we still have a beautiful, thoughtful, and intriguing movie left in its wake and it would be a disservice to call it anything less than exceptional in so many ways. Would I recommend it? Yes, is the simple answer, but as is the way with everything, it's not for everyone. Anyone with a dislike for the bizarre and surreal would be a bit put off by this movie, while those who like the abstract and silliness will absolutely love what it has to offer. I would recommend this to any college-aged individual and beyond because this movie really hits on a lot of the doubtful thoughts that cross your mind at that age and provides a lot of encouragement for those at that stage in their lives. For those people, I give it a wholehearted recommendation and some final encouragement: the night is short, so walk on girl.