Set in the time of the Irish Revolution, Comedy, belying its title, is actually an atmospheric gothic horror, spiced with elements of fairy tale and legend. Part of 2004’s Sweat Punch short film collection produced by venerable experimental anime house Studio 4°c, the film expertly crafts a darkly romantic atmosphere.

A young woman reflects upon a time 15 years earlier. She was 5 and her village was about to be set upon by English soldiers. In desperation, she crossed through the Black Forest, to search for a swordsman of legend, the “Kuroi Kenshin”, to help protect her family and people. Her only tool of persuasion is a book she hopes to give him.

That is the setup for the film, which at only 10 minutes, is still admirably able to establish a languid mood, only to be sharply shattered when the English finally do arrive. Omnipresent gloom, influenced by the dark palette and stylistic use of fog and other filters, helps as well to reinforce the dark, gothic meme. Religious overtones are meant to be imparted through the use of Schubert’s Ave Maria, but beautiful as it is, I found it to be found an almost laughable choice. Aside from mood and some nifty work with light, Comedy adheres rather closely to the traditional anime aesthetic, and is about as conventional a film you will see from the studio, known for its experimental work.  The action, which is brief, yet beautiful, is where the majority of the innovation can be witnessed, through simultaneous representations and ghostly afterimages. Sadly though it is the portion least suited to viewing on the ‘net.

Perhaps because it is one of the more straightforward entries in Studio 4°c’s catalog, Comedy has definitely become a fan-favorite. Of course maybe it is simply because of the well-established fact that mysterious and beautiful killing-machines are so deeply resonant with your average anime fan ^_^. Still, the film has stood the test of time for a studio known as a bastion for short, experimental animation in Japan. It is a small studio, that by and large rejects growth, in order to create an environment that allows some of  the greatest animators to do the work they want to do. Commercial projects, such as major contributions to the Animatrix and the newer Gotham Knight collections, as well music videos for Linkin Park and the huge Japanese band, Glay, keep the studio in the black, but it is their short film collections that are the heart of their output. Collections like Genius Party and the recent Genius Party Beyond, are the latest examples.

This is an important role the studio plays in term of the growth of animation in the country. Studio 4°c creates a space for animators, like Kazuto Nakazawa, to journey back and forth from the experimental to the mainstream.  The ironic thing about Japan is that the ubiquity of commercial animation actually retards the experimental. Only in the last few years have Japanese animators like Koji Yamamura and yesterday’s Oscar-Winner Kunio Kato recieved recognition and validation on the world festival stage, and their work is by and large independent and does not really touch upon what we consider an anime aesthetic. Directors like Nakazawa, on the other hand, have a commercial output as diverse as directing the anime sequence in Kill Bill,  the Asience: Hairy Tale commercial, and chief animation directing of several episodes of Samurai Champloo. Comedy, is a worthy title in that oevre, and now with YouTube upping their quality, it has finally  been uploaded in a form fit to share. Enjoy it in HQ!