Spring and Chaos, though short in length, is chock full of artistry. Based on the life of the famous Japanese Poet/Writer Kenji Miyazawa, Spring and Chaos, is a true testament to his unrecognized surreal and fantastic view of the world.
Written and directed by Shoji Kawamori, known for designs in series such as Macross and Escaflowne; Spring and Chaos is a mixture of traditional and CG animation, which though done before, cannot compare to the imagery shown in this film. From beginning to end, viewers are taken on a magical journey into Miyazawa’s amazing mind. From flowers, to the stars, to colors, Kawamori does an excellent job relaying Miyazawa’s words into images.
There are really no words to describe the look of this film. It is a cinematographer’s wonderland. At some points you will easily forget that this is not a real life drama, especially when viewers are given a glance into Miyazawa’s words through imagery. All of these scenes are done in three dimensions, and when the two-dimensional hand drawn feline Miyazawa sees himself in this world, one almost forgets that this is a cat and not the drawing of the man Miyazawa. If one could get into his mind, this is truly what this man saw in many ways.
The characters in this film are depicted as cats, in honor of one of Miyazawa’s most famous stories Night on the Galactic Railroad or Night of the Milky Way Train (Ginga Tetsudou no Youru), where all of the characters are cats. The story opens with Miyazawa teaching science at a local school, Miyazawa tries to teach his students to see the world far beyond the reality that is. Miyazawa tries to relay to his students how everything in nature is connected through science and spirituality. At the same time Miyazawa constantly battles with his feeling about his family’s pawnshop, which he feels takes advantage of those less fortunate. Miyazawa also battles with the fact that his father disapproves of him wanting to make a living as writer, especially Miyazawa’s brand of writing which delved heavily into Western science and surreal imagery.
Warning, this film is not your run of the mill anime, it is very off beat, more like an independent film. Those who are not accustomed to such films may not find Spring and Chaos to their liking. This story relies heavily on imagery and requires the viewer to imply much from what is presented. Even those comfortable to viewing such films may at times find themselves confused.
Despite this one flaw, I highly recommend Spring and Chaos, to anyone and everyone. It is a true homage and a fine example of what the anime industry is capable of accomplishing.
Spring and Chaos is currently available on DVD. The DVD offers fans a more in depth look at the making of this film. The DVD also contains one of Miyazawa’s poems. Send comments and or questions about this article to JenniferJ@ybfree.com.