Synopsis
Widely regarded as one of the most imaginative and influential filmmakers working in animation today, Masaaki Yuasa has been compared to pioneers such as Tex Avery and Max Fleischer. He is one of contemporary anime's most prolific auteurs and has lent his humor and dynamism to genres as diverse as psychedelic thrillers, transcendent rock-operas, and sweetly subversive teen romances. This set includes Masaaki Yuasa's five celebrated feature films – MIND GAME (2004), The Night is Short, Walk on Girl (2017), Lu Over the Wall (2017), Ride Your Wave (2019), and INU-OH (2021) – along with a host of never-before-seen bonus features and an original book celebrating the work of this one-of-a-kind storyteller. Features an exclusive bonus disc with special features.
Special Features
- Mind Game: 2022 American Cinematheque Q&A
- Mind Game: Character Drawing
- Mind Game: Scene Breakdown
- Lu Over the Wall: Scene Breakdown
- Lu Over the Wall: Character Drawing
- The Night is Short, Walk On Girl: Scene Breakdown
- A Night Out with Masaaki Yuasa
- Ride Your Wave: Scene Breakdown
- INU-OH: Scene Breakdown
- “HAPPY MACHINE”
- “KICK-HEART”
- And More!
About Masaaki Yuasa
After graduating from the Department of Fine Arts at Kyushu Sangyo University, Yuasa joined Ajia-do Animation Works and studied under Tsutomu Shibayama. Later he worked as a freelancer. Yuasa was one of the primary staff for the TV series Chibi Maruko-chan and Crayon Shin-chan.
His directorial debut, Mind Game (2004), won numerous awards including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Script at the Montreal Fantasia International Film Festival. He has also received many awards for television shows he directed, such as The Tatami Galaxy (2010) and Ping Pong: The Animation (2014).
In 2017, he released two of his feature films, Night is Short, Walk On Girl and Lu Over The Wall in theaters. Night is Short, Walk On Girl won not only the Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year, but was also the first film directed by a Japanese director to win the Grand Prize for Best Animated Feature at the Ottawa International Animation Festival. His first original feature film, Lu Over The Wall, won the Cristal for Best Feature Film at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival.
Following the worldwide distribution of his two anime series, DEVILMAN crybaby (2018) and Japan Sinks 2020 (2020) which won the Jury Award for a TV Series at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Yuasa’s works have become wildly popular not only in Japan but around the world. One of his most beloved shows adapted from Sumito Ōwara’s manga of the same title, Keep Your Hands Off of Eizouken!, was named “one of the best TV shows of the year” by the New York Times. Additionally, his 2020 film Ride Your Wave won Best Animated Film at the Shanghai International Film Festival, as well as many national and international awards, including the Best Animated Feature Film at the Sitges - International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia.
In INU-OH, his 5th full-length feature film, he took on the difficult task of creating a musical movie set in Muromachi-era Japan for the first time, as his love for challenges knows no bounds. The film debuted and earned Yuasa his first invitation to both the Venice Film Festival and TIFF. His unbridled imagination and dynamic drawing style have attracted attention both inside and outside the animation industry.
Yuasa is one of the most notable and talented animation directors in the business today.