Highlights
- Masaaki Yuasa: Five Films Collector's Edition is a premium physical release that includes five of the director's feature films, showcasing his unique approach to creating anime.
- The collection features original artwork, an extensive art book, a short film, and an in-depth interview with the director, providing a glimpse into Yuasa's creative process.
- This box set captures the essence of Yuasa's surreal and visually captivating style, making it a must-have for fans of auteur anime and a great introduction for newcomers. Available now from GKIDS.
Few directors in the history of anime have had as much of an impact as Masaaki Yuasa, or as much of an indescribable yet recognizable visual sensibility. Acclaimed for the signature surrealism that exists across the wide genres and art styles explored throughout his filmography, independent animation distributor GKIDS is now honoring the visionary director in a new collector’s edition physical release of his five most iconic works.
Titled Masaaki Yuasa: Five Films Collector’s Edition, the premium physical release includes five of the director’s feature films along with his more experimental shorts and other featurettes highlighting the director’s unique approach to creating anime.
The Boy and the Heron Review
Now in theaters across America, Hayao Miyazaki ambitiously builds off the technical animation skill that has made his films famous the world over.
Five Films from One of Anime’s Biggest Visionaries
The first film in the collection, 2004’s Mind Game, is a young Tokyo man’s surrealist odyssey, a rewriting of the rules of time and space which culminates in an epic attempt to escape the belly of a whale. (If that sounds odd, be assured that it’s among the least bizarre ways you could describe the film.) After more than a decade of work in television, Yuasa returned to feature animation in 2017 with The Night is Short, Walk On Girl, a romcom companion piece to his acclaimed anime series The Tatami Galaxy, using distinct stylistic choices to shine an endearingly oddball look on Japanese college nightlife. Also in 2017 was his third film in the set, Lu Over the Wall, a vibrant, Flash-animated musical family film about a junior-high rock band who breathe new life into their seaside Japanese town by bringing on a mermaid singer as their main attraction. 2019’s Ride Your Wave combines the romantic comedy of Night is Short, Walk on Girl with the nautical vibes of Lu Over the Wall, telling a sad, funny, and ultimately life-affirming fantasy of a young couple who bond over surfing and the water. Finally, 2021’s Inu-Oh looks back towards feudal Japan, telling a sort of traditional Japanese rock opera about a duo of misfit musicians who challenge the rigid establishment and change the face of Japanese music forever.
Original Artwork from the Director and More
A fierce originality is the throughline of Masaaki Yuasa’s works, so it’s only fitting that the director would embellish the box set with original artwork. In addition to the artwork, the box set also includes an extensive art book, Yuasa’s 2013 short film “Kick-Heart” (a fully-crowdfunded, 12-minute anime short about a professional wrestler teaming up with a nun to raise funds for an orphanage), and an in-depth interview offering a look into the director’s creative process in a Los Angeles lounge.
Capturing the essence of the director’s elastic style in a way that’s reminiscent of elaborate Japanese stationery and decorative art, the original art from Yuasa is certainly a highlight of the box set and a treat for fans of physical media. Both a collector’s piece for fans of auteur anime and a great introduction for interested newcomers, this new piece is proving one of the biggest physical anime releases of the season.
Masaaki Yuasa: Five Films Collector’s Edition is available now for from GKIDS.