Dead Leaves (2004) (V)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Hiroyuki Imaishi

Writers:

Toonz Imai (creator)
Takeichi Honda (screenplay)

Release Date:

28 September 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Action | Adventure | Comedy | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Breaking out of prison was never this much...fun?

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Defecation | Gore | Prison Guard | Cult Comedy | Adult Animation

Cast

Kerry Anderson	...	Galactica (voice: English version)
Keith Burgess	...	Chinko Doll (voice: English version)
Chad Fifer	...	666 (voice: English version)
Takako Honda	...	Pandy
Steven Krulser	...	931, Engineer, Ponytail Guy, Sergeant (voice: English version) (as Stephen Kruiser)
Jason Lee	...	Retro (voice: English version)
Hal Lublin	...	Blue Elephant, Mini Bluto, Mr. Coffee, Offspring, Pedestrian, Ship Computer, Testicle Head (voice: English version)
Jason Miller	...	777, Bearded Old Man (voice: English version)
Stephen Millunzi	...	Curly Haired Freak, Cyclops, Dispatcher, Grey Robot, Guards, Gunner, Old Puffy, Purple Turnip (voice: English version) (as Steve Millunzi)
Michael Ross	...	Hippopotabull, Judge, Looneytuner, Shirley, Straberry Robot, Tank Commander (voice: English version) (as Michael Paul Ross)
Douglas Rye	...	Bobafett Guy, Caterpillar, Dr. Yabu, Easter Island Guy, White Haired Guy (voice: English version)
Nobuo Tobita	...	Drill
Amanda Winn Lee	...	Pandy (voice: English version) (as Amanda Winn)
Kappei Yamaguchi	...	Retro

Runtime:

USA:55 min (original version)

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese | Spanish

Color:

Color (Technicolor) | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Japan:PG-12 | USA:Approved (video rating) | Australia:MA

Filming Locations:

Japan

Company:

Production I.G.

Quotes:

666: TIME TO POOP!
Retro: ...Poop?
Chinko Doll: Poop.

Movie Connections:

References Tetsuo (1989)

At long last, something that comes close to FLCL

I'm not an anime fan. I started to go in to why, but deleted it and decided to write about why I like Dead Leaves. How I am going to do that is by saying that even though I am not a fan of the genre, FLCL is one of my all time favorite viewing experiences. I fell in love with it the moment I saw it, and have owned various DVD releases of it and watched them many times, each viewing finding something new. Until tonight, I was disconsolate that no other anime would ever make me sit up and take notice.

Now, Dead Leaves is not quite to FLCL's level, IMO; however, they are kindred spirits. First of all, it's a short, just over 3/4 of an hour, so it didn't have the time to develop its characters or plot as well, neither does it have the bittersweet, weird love story of FLCL, nor the coming of age subtext rife with adolescent realizations that makes FLCL so special, but then again, it doesn't want or need any of these. What it does have are tons of LOL, WTF and "AWESOME!" moments, packed in so tightly, this is something that will need to be watched again and again. It also shares FLCL's humor, twisted sensibility and style.

Another comment indicates that the director of Dead Leaves also worked on FLCL, but I can't find confirmation of that here on IMDb; however, I would not be surprised in the slightest that that was the case.

This short has given me hope that Japan hasn't only made one anime that I can appreciate. It is confirmed that it has now made at least two.