Our Sound (2021): Written and directed by Kenji Iwaisawa. Starring: Shintaro Sakamoto, Ren Komai, Tomoya Maeno, Tateto Serizawa, and Kami Hiraiwa. Running Time: 71 minutes.
Rating: 2.5/4
Our Sound is a unique oddity, an animated film produced by an extremely small crew and minimal budget. The almost-childish aesthetic that results limits somewhat what story it can tell, but it also kinda fits the bonkers tone that makes it such a unique viewing experience.
The main characters are a trio of male schoolfriends, though their voices sound shockingly adult whenver they speak. They seem to be something of a tough-guy bunch, always heading off for fights even when they don't actually know where their targets are, but for some reason they very spontaneously decide to form a band. With absolutely no musical training, they simply grab two bass guitars and two drums and....just wail. Really, that's about all they produce. Yet they find something profound in the very basic sound and decide to seek out other bands and a potential playing spot in a festival. In a very amusing twist, they try to join up with a band of long-haired and bespectacled classmates who are TERRIFIED of the main character, apparently because he used to be beat them up.
The main character himself is a bit of a paradox, in many ways representative of the film as a whole. Not only does he sound far older than a high school student ever should, he also looks way too old for the uniform, with his noticeable moustache and bald head. His animation is so basic that he effectively has the same, wholly monotone facial experession throughout, matching his voice. It's unsettling, and it feels unfinished, but maybe that's the point? At any rate, his one-tone thought process and the way in which he picks something up, drops it almost immediately, then takes it back up again at the oddest moments is strangely compelling.
It's during the songs that the animation does pick up a bit, going on these visual flights of fancy to match the tone of whatever song is being performed at a given time. At times it feels like the movie is a trial run for a series of experimental music videos, which, hey, they are worse ideas for an animated picture. An additional plot point comes up later on where a rival gang, one of the people the main character used to fight, hears about the band and is convinced it is simply a trick to mess with him. It is this confusion which inspires the climax, such as it is.
In the end, this is a barebones film that will likely be far too out there for most to enjoy, but I most certainly had my fun watching it. Maybe you will too! And maybe you'll be inspired to pick up an instrument yourself. Maybe.
-Noah Franc
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