Some anime take a long time to get made, while others that get made take forever to be so much as accessible outside of Japan. In the case of Cencoroll, a humble cult-classic animated short that hit a chord with audiences, it took an especially long time to get made and still hasn't gotten its due.
The first Cencoroll came out in 2009, directed and animated solely by Atsuya Uki, a character designer on Digimon and Tsuritama. It tells the story of a girl named Yuki, a boy named Tetsu, and a creature under his control named Cenco, who can change shape into anything that has been put in his mouth. When another monster controlled by a boy named Shuu appears and wreaks havoc, our protagonists are forced into a battle. The first Cencoroll was only about 26 minutes, but its animation and entertaining story made it an eye-catching oddity that stole viewers' hearts.
"Where's Cencoroll 2?"
Initially, a sequel was supposed to happen back in 2014, but the projected summer release window came and went before long. It wasn't until five years later in 2019 that the project re-emerged with announcements of a new theatrical release.
Cencoroll 2 became Cencoroll Connect, a combination of the first and second stories released as one 75-minute film. On June 14, 2019, Aniplex USA posted a trailer for the release with a link to the official US website for the film. The film was released the same month on June 29 and US fans actually had a chance to see it not long after.
The film would make its U.S. Premiere on July 4, for one night only at Anime Expo, which one could have assumed would be the precursor to a larger release. It was also screened at the Animation Is Film Fest and AFA Singapore. Uki even announced that a third film was already in production and would be the finale.
But all the excitement was to be short-lived as Cencoroll very quickly disappeared from the spotlight with not a single new announcement about a wider release. Obviously, by now, it has been released on Blu-ray in Japan, but nowhere else. The "News" page for the frankly well-designed US website only has one announcement:
06.14.2019 - CENCOROLL CONNECT Official USA Website has Launched!"
- Cencoroll-USA.com/news/
What Audiences Are Missing
Cencoroll Connect begins with the original film from 2009 with seemingly no changes or updates made to it, which was the right call. It preserves what is beautifully quirky and imperfect about this passion project that Uki worked on by himself. His character designs are fresh and expressive, at the cost of some consistency and fidelity.
The background art is fascinating, as the scenery can look strangely photorealistic from some angles and more abstract and simple from others. The use of color across both films is the most surprising, despite it mostly relying on black, white, and gray. Most people probably don't consider media with an abundance of those three to be "colorful" but Cencoroll makes a good case for it.
The color choices opt for a very relaxed and neutral vibe. Characters primarily wear white button-ups and black pants or skirts. The buildings are gray in shadow but bright white under a beautiful blue sky peaking through the clouds.
Even Cenco, the titular creature, is a grayish white like the others like him; "Drones" they are called. The first film follows Yuki as she discovers the existence of Cenco and his connection to Tetsu, the boy who can control Cenco. What starts as a fun discovery for Yuki turns dangerous when a boy named Shu appears with a Drone of his own, looking to take Cenco and become more powerful.
Not much is explored about the world in the first film, favoring an adventure focused on the characters. There's a huge drone that appears atop a building at the beginning, and the JSDF are seen surrounding it with tanks, but not much is spoken of it. There are no news broadcasts or discussions among side characters about the big creature atop a building downtown.
Cencoroll's first chapter wasn't intended to be huge and judging by the complete double feature, it wasn't meant to be really finished. Still, Uki knew where his priorities should lie as a director: big ideas, interesting characters, and simple motivations.
When Cencoroll 2 starts, the difference is immediately noticeable and every moment of that 10-year gap feels worth it within minutes. The style is refined, and character designs are far more consistent without losing any of their expressiveness. Within a singular work of art, the audience is able to see not only the director's unrestrained vision but the evolution of that style as well.
It wastes no time before making it clear that the story is a narrative evolution as well, introducing two new characters, Kaname and Gotouda, who almost outshine the protagonists. The world is expanded on without losing itself in minutia. And since it takes place only about a week after the first, it blends incredibly well.
Cencoroll 2 is longer and combined with the first makes a truly captivating and far more complete story worthy of being called a true film. Tetsu and Yuki's characterizations could use some work and there are some forced conflicts that never felt fully fleshed out, but on the whole, the film gets the imagination racing.
And once again, it can hardly be overstated how impressive the animation is for a project helmed by - as far as anyone can tell - one man. The character acting and art alone are great but teamed with inventive and fluid animation, it rivals a great many contemporary greats in directing and storyboarding.
Finally, the music by Ryo of Supercell is exceptional, sparse in part 1 but intoxicating in part 2. Combined with the more bassy and impactful sound design of Cencoroll 2, the film is an audiovisual feast that - because of its construction - evolves from beginning to end in ways few films do.
Why Cencoroll Needs A Wider Release
Because of this missed opportunity to make both parts available to audiences, anime fans are missing out on one of the most passionate artistic showcases in the medium. Understanding the context of the two films and the decade that took place between them adds to the appreciation of the art.
By some metric, Aniplex must have decided that Cencoroll didn't warrant a wider release and in their defense, it is quite a niche property. However, clearly, there is faith in Atsuya Uki's vision to greenlight a third and final entry, so it stands to reason more could have been done to market it in the west.
Pre-pandemic, Funimation would craft passionate 2-minute trailers for their Blu-ray releases, be it a hotly-anticipated Shonen or a cult classic returning to print or perhaps getting released for the first time. Now, it often feels as though anime is promoted through word of mouth and a social media hype machine more reactive than proactive.
Perhaps that last point is pushing it slightly, but the point remains that Cencoroll deserves a chance, like with many anime out of print in Aniplex's library. And perhaps taking advantage of western anime fandom's influence, that chance could come. There will surely be plenty of time to do so until Cencoroll 3 arrives (hopefully before 2029).
Sources: Cencoroll-USA, Anime News Network [1][2][3]