OVID.TV Presents TATSUMI Review — Birth of Gekiga

This Ovid.TV Film Brings Manga to Life

The film is animated in a way that replicates Tatsumi’s original art style in great detail, even down to how specific stories were either in color or black and white. When the story starts to divert back into the life of Tatsumi, the film maintains this manga artstyle. While it is clear this was mostly done in some sort of digital animation program, the animation has not left any little detail behind and has captured that traditional sketch work-like artstyle.   Every scene is depicted with shadows and lighting effects made with little paint splotches, or sometimes many black lines filling in a crevice. Yoshihiro Tatsumi himself played a part in the film’s production to make sure the animators captured the authenticity of his artwork and allow the film to look the part. In some segments, colors are used to pop and bring stark contrast to the awful realities in a story. We are drawn towards these vibrant colors. We almost forget that what hides behind their beauty is often a depressing story such as in Occupied where a man loses his sense of purpose. Even the black and white segments of the story are filled to the brim with intricate details such as scratches and patterns on wood and trees’ bark, or mud splattered onto the floor by a military jeep. The animators were not only able to capture the authenticity of Tatsumi’s work, but to truly bring it to life, in this writer’s opinion.

These stories offer a harsh, yet full-of-life depiction of the unfortunate circumstances the story characters are forced to endure. For example, we meet Yoshida in Beloved Monkey working at an industrial factory during the Vietnam war. Working class but poor, he has to travel in cramped trains to travel far for work. He lives in a tiny apartment with only his monkey.  Tragically,  Yoshida is forced to give up his monkey companion when he loses his arm in the factory accident, just as he pens his letter of resignation. We learn from this gekiga that such accidents are actually not uncommon in these type factory jobs. In Just a Man, we see Hanayama as an old man, feeling his worth vanish as society slowly deems him unnecessary due to his advanced age. His employer no longer gives him any work, and the idea of having to retire to spend more time with his spiteful, cheating wife fills him with gloom. These are just two of the five dark and depressing tales that Tatsumi had written and Eric Khoo has brought to life through this animated film. You, like this writer, might agree that they are all harrowing, dark, depressing, and yet giving a realistic view of life that tugs at heartstrings.

Tatsumi is especially a top film pick for those interested in manga and Gekiga influenced by Osamu Tezuka, and others engulfed in the world of manga, or wanting to personally explore comic illustration and/or animations. This documentary’s stories of grueling hardships will likely appeal to anyone who appreciates animated films delving into much more adult themes. That being said, this is not for the easily disturbed or the squeamish. There are topics of sexual themes, nudity, and even a bit of blood.

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Creative Team: Eric Khoo (Director and Producer), Tan Fong Cheng (Producer), and Phil Mitchell, Freddie Yeo (Producer)

Cast: Tetsuya Bessho, Yoshihiro Tatsumi

For more information or to watch this film visit the OVID.tv webpage for Tatsumi.

Images courtesy of OVID.tv.

Find more OVID.tv film reviews here.