Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! – 2 [The Eizouken Takes the Stage]

Welcome one and all to Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken, the first of the new series I am covering! I’ll be honest, i’m excited about this one. Eizouken is looking to start the year off strong. Giving us a lovable look in to the animation industry we haven’t seen since Shirobako. So let’s dive in!

Right off the bat, Eizouken reminds me of these old cartoons I used to watch as a kid. Ones like Kids Next Door or Ed Edd n Eddy, which are just kids being kids. Hanging out in their day to day lives, using their imagination to make every day an adventure. It brings a sense of nostalgia with it that other highschool centered anime just lack. Most likely due to what they focus on vs Eizouken. Its this focus that, while the two previously mentioned showers were just good, sets Eizouken. As it manages to be both entertaining and informative, a sort of edutainment if you will. But while it manages to shed some light on the Animation process, that doesn’t feel like Eizouken’s purpose. More a consequence of Yuasa’s goal of telling/showing the viewer his, and others, passion for the medium. And I can’t wait for more.

You can see this in how, similar to the previously mentioned western cartoons, it uses its environments. There isn’t really any walls in Eizouken, 3rd, 4th or what have you. The show doesn’t try to pass itself or any thing inside it off as reality. Instead it embraces the fact that its animation, popping environments and things in and out as characters describe them. Taking the viewer along with the characters in to their imagination. Only to have the characters themselves point out that its “Ok because its not real”, like when blowing up a building so wind can pass through. It’s just so freeing compared to a lot of anime that we see these days. Eizouken isn’t trying to tell a grand story or impart some deep philosophical message. And while I love those series and they have their place, so does Eizouken, and the series few like it.

Enough gushing about Eizouken’s approach to the medium and its representation of the passion behind it, lets talk production! Now admittedly a lot of Eizouken’s big moments are very rough. One could even call them unfinished in ways, as they lack a lot of the polish and fine details you expect today. However, what makes it work and makes me find it beautiful is how it fits in to the narrative. These are animations, storyboard, scenes from the Lead’s own heads, so it makes sense its unfinished. They aren’t professional animators, they can only do so much with their skills. Meanwhile behind the scenes there is a lot of skill that goes in to making these rough animations beautiful, without losing that human error. It’s like the Japanese art of Kintsugi in my mind, showing beauty through imperfection. And I think Eizouken pulls it off well.

Meanwhile behind it all there is alot of learning about the actual animation process. You need only look at the whole segment with the windmill for proof of that. Explaining perspective, angles, logical considerations that go in to why an artist draws something they way they do. How it is presented, such as the full face vs angled face, etc. Like I mentioned earlier, Eizouken is very similar to Shirobako in how it gives the viewer a look into the industry. However unlike Shirobako, Eizouken focuses in on a very specific aspect of anime production, rather than the business as a whole. Diving into the actual creation of anime, the various tools and techniques used. It makes me really excited when I think of the kinds of things that we could see later on, as it explores other mediums and such.

Speaking of the tools, boy did Eizouken not skimp out on the technical side of things. Showing us Animation Paper, animation desks, cells, the camera stand, etc. Letting the characters play around with it and showing the viewer how they are used. A lot of it is currently outdated of course, used during the time of cell animation. But it is a nice look in to how things used to be done, and might still be done in some places. A far more technical look than Shirobako gave us, which focused more on the business/human side at times. We also get to see some of the more technical papers, the marking and cut sheets, etc. It’s a fine line Eizouken is walking here, between technical blabber and sharing its passion for the medium. And so far I think it is nailing it.

Lastly I want to talk about the OST and the VA work, because Eizouken is rocking both. For the first up, while I don’t know the track name, I love the song that plays whenever a big animation moment is coming. With its guitar riffs and all over the place sounds, the “woo woo woo” in the background. Its quirky and optimistic, just like the series. Meanwhile the VA’s are doing great jobs as both Actors and on-the-spot SFX. Because in case you hadn’t noticed, during their “imagination” moments a lot of the SFX come from the VA’s themselves. Going “Boom” and “whoosh”, like kids playing in their backyard. It’s little things like this that I think give beauty to Eizouken’s purposeful imperfection. The effort that goes in to the idea that all of this is being made by these kids.

So, all in all, how is Eizouken? Well in case it wasn’t clear, I love it. It’s arguably my favorite series of this season and came completely out of left field for me. From the OP to the ED to everything in between, its just a fantastic time. There is nothing particularly complex about it, it’s not going to throw philosophy or religion in your face like Vinland Saga did last season that some took issue with. Eizouken is a pure love letter to animation, a passion project by Yuasa, and I think it going to be great. He hasn’t really steered wrong with me yet to be honest, especially since my favorite anime ever (Ping Pong the Animation) was his as well. The man just makes quirky, passionate projects, and thats something to celebrate in my eyes.