Anime like Visions of Frank

Robot Carnival

Also known as Robot Carnival.

Studio: APPP , Discotek
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Comedy , Drama , Fantasy , Mecha , Sci-Fi

9 of Japan's leading animators were asked to create a short segment that followed the theme of "Robots," for their inclusion in this film. Essentially, this "movie" is 9 short films, all independent of one another. The common element is human interaction with robots, namely the consequences of creating life with one's own hands, played in nine very different ways.



1: Opening (Atsuko Fukushima and Katsuhiro Otomo)
2: Franken's Gears (Koji Morimoto)
3: Deprive (Hidetoshi Omori)
4: Presence (Yasuomi Umetsu)
5: Star Light Angel (Hiroyuki Kitazume)
6: Cloud (Mao Lamdo)
7: A Tale of Two Robots (Hiroyuki Kitakubo)
8: Nightmare (Takashi Nakamura)
9: Ending (Atsuko Fukushima and Katsuhiro Otomo)

Tags: Robots , Anthology , No Dialogue , Post-Apocalyptic , Episodic , Steampunk , Anachronism

Meikyuu Monogatari

Also known as Neo Tokyo.

Studio: MADHOUSE , Kadokawa Shoten , Selecta Visión , Project Team Argos
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Fantasy , Horror , Sci-Fi , Supernatural

1) Labyrinth Labyrinthos
A girl and her cat fall through a looking-glass into a dark labyrinth full of strange people.

2) Running Man
In the distant future, a tough racer uses his psychokinetic powers against his opponents during his final race.

3) The Order to Stop Construction
A snooty salaryman is sent by his bosses to the jungle to stop a completely automated construction job, and spends several days there arguing with the robots.



Tags: Anthology , Cyberpunk , Work , Circus , Cars , Robots , Body Horror , Episodic , Gore , Male Protagonist , Super Power

Nekojiru-sou

Also known as Cat Soup.

Studio: J.C. Staff
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Horror , Psychological

Cat Soup is an extremely difficult film to describe, due to its awesome surrealism and almost nonexistant dialogue. It is more a work of art than an anime. There are many underlying themes, such as the transcience of man's existence, but it can be enjoyed without understanding any of them. The plot, though simple, isn't necessarily understandable without being explained. The main character, a cat named Nyatto, embarks upon a journey to save his sister's soul, which was ripped in two when Nyatto tried to save her from Death. She trails after him, brain-dead. They encounter many brilliant, mind-bending situations, beginning with a disturbing magic show.



Tags: Animals , Surreal Comedy , No Dialogue , Philosophy , Afterlife , Cosmic Horror , Seinen , Primarily Animal Cast , Survival , Urban , Anthropomorphism , Gods , Male Protagonist , Circus , Time Manipulation , Rural , Body Horror , Religion , Ships , Outdoor , Nudity , Cannibalism , Gore , Revenge

Fuyu no Hi

Also known as Winter Days.

Studio: Imagica
Status: Finished
Genres:

Fuyu no Hin is a 2003 animated film directed by Kihachiro Kawamoto. It is based upon the renga of the same name by the 17th-century Japanese poet Basho.

The creation of the film followed the traditional collaborative nature of the source material—the visuals for each of the 36 stanzas were independently created by 35 different animators. As well as many Japanese animators, Kawamoto assembled leading names of animation from across the world. Each animator was asked to contribute at least 30 seconds to illustrate their stanza, and most of the sequences are under a minute (Yuriy Norshteyn's, though, is nearly two minutes long).

The released film consists of the 40-minute animation, followed by an hour-long "Making of" documentary, including interviews with the animators. Fuyu no Hi won the Grand Prize of the Japan Media Arts Festival in 2003.



Tags: No Dialogue , Anthology , Classic Literature , Puppetry , Historical , Stop Motion