582 words

Night Is Short, Walk On Girl

Japanese 夜は短し歩けよ乙女

Directed by Masaaki Yuasa

Based on The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl by Tomihiko Morimi

Release date April 7, 2017

Running time 93 minutes

Country Japan

Language Japanese

Box office ￥530 million (Japan)

Night Is Short, Walk On Girl

is a 2017 Japanese animated romantic comedy film directed by Masaaki Yuasa. The film is based on the 2006 novel The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl written by Tomihiko Morimi and illustrated by Yusuke Nakamura, who also served as the film's original character designer. The film was released in North America as The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl, with a leading article added, but in other English-speaking regions without one. It has been awarded the Grand Prize for Best Animated Feature at the Ottawa International Animation Festival and the Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year.

The film is a spiritual sequel to The Tatami Galaxy, also based on a novel written by Morimi and directed by Yuasa. Though both works share a Kyoto University setting and some characters, the plotlines are largely unrelated.

Plot

The film follows a night out for two university students: an unnamed woman – referred to as Kōh(huán)ai (後輩, "Junior") throughout the film, and kurokami no otome (黒髪の乙女, "black-haired maiden") in the film's credits – and an unnamed man – referred to as Senpai (先輩, "Senior") in the film and its credits. The senpai plans to confess his romantic feelings for the kōh(huán)ai to her that night, though circumstances keep them separated for a majority of the evening.

The kōh(huán)ai meets a pervert, Tōdō, at a bar. She wins the admiration of two other patrons, Higuchi and Hanuki, after punching Tōdō when he makes an advance on her. Higuchi and Hanuki lead the kōh(huán)ai in gate crashing strangers' parties, where she drinks an impressive amount of alcohol.

She later participates in a drinking game with Rihaku, a supernatural being, and wins.

Meanwhile, the senpai undertakes a number of adventures to find a copy of Ratatatam, a beloved book from the kōh(huán)ai's childhood. After obtaining the book, he learns that she is to play the lead in the final scene of a guerilla theatre production.

He attempts to replace the male lead in the scene, but is unsuccessful. Having caught a cold, the senpai returns home.

The kōh(huán)ai visits the companions she has met throughout the night, all of whom have caught the same cold as the senpai, and nurses them back to health.

Her final visit is to the senpai, who gives her the copy of Ratatatam and suggests visiting a used bookstore together, to which she enthusiastically assents.

The film ends with the two meeting for coffee before going to the bookstore.

Reception

Critical reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 90% approval rating based on 31 reviews, with an average rating of 7.3/10.

The website's critics consensus reads, "Inventively animated, boldly creative, and refreshingly ambitious, The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl should resonate deeply with fans of outré anime."

Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 65 out of 100 based on 7 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Awards

Award Category Nominee Result

41st Japan Academy Prize Animation of the Year Won

41st Ottawa International Animation Festival Best Animated Feature Won

-- Wikipedia