AniWorthDonguri to Yamaneko
Introduction
The Acorns and the Wildcat is a unique short film in picture-book format from the creator of Night on the Galactic Railroad and Gauche the Cellist. Unusually for an anime, a narrator reads Kenji's story aloud while the action is played out on the screen by a succession of warm and evocative illustrations brought to life by subtle touches of animation. If the film feels somehow familiar yet you can't put your finger on the reason why, it's probably the sumptuously minimalist animation by Yasuhiro Nagura, who was the animation director of Mamoru Oshii's artsy 1986 feature Angel's Egg. That, and Kenji's wildcat is said to have been the inspiration for Miyazaki's Panda/Totoro creature. The idea of reading Kenji's story aloud instead of playing it out as a drama is quite refreshing, and Kenji's magical language and narrative style are entirely sufficient to sustain interest. Combined with the spacey music and breathtaking art, the result is a pleasantly unassuming little gem of a film.
(Source: pelleas.net)
Where to watch
- Crunchyroll - search the official catalogue. Availability varies by country.
- Netflix - search the official catalogue. Availability varies by country.
- Prime Video - search the official catalogue. Availability varies by country.
- HIDIVE - search the official catalogue. Availability varies by country.
- ADN - search the official catalogue. Availability varies by country.
Audience ratings
MyAnimeList : 5.84/10 · 367
MyAnimeList : 63.87/100 · 140
MyAnimeList : 56/100
Audience reviews
1 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
Kamezuki
Donguri to Yamaneko is an intriguing and relaxing picture book-style short OVA based on a Kenji Miyazawa story and narrated by musician Kuni Kawachi. With its dreamlike art and unusual premise, this OVA is certainly worth a watch, although I was left wondering at the end what the point of the story was.
Animation in this OVA is limited, and almost like you're looking at pages in a picture book. The dreamlike artwork is captivating, though, and will draw you into the world probably better than a fully animated version would.
The background music doesn't stand out on its own, but does add to the ambiance. As for voices, there is only that of the narrator, and he does a satisfactory job.
As for the story, we start out with a young boy getting a letter scribbled on a leaf from the wildcat,…
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