The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl Review

Director: Masaaki Yuasa
Release: 4 October 2017
From: All The Anime
Format: Theatrical Release
Age Rating: 15

Senpai wants you to notice him… well, actually he wants The Girl With Black Hair to notice him. Having worked it so the pair often bump into each other “by coincidence”, Senpai is convinced that she’s the one – now all he needs to do is pluck up the courage to ask her out.

The girl, however, has other plans; staying one step ahead as she escapes out into the night in search of new friends and experiences.

The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl is a love story like no other, where four seasons pass by in one night and a girl spends her time running from one quirky venture to another while a boy desperately tries to find a place in her heart. It may be tricky to follow at times, but that hardly matters given the visual feast laid on by director Masaaki Yuasa (Ping Pong, Lu Over the Wall). A cloud of smoke turns into a carp swimming through the air, a second-hand book market becomes an ocean with paper fish – it’s all so beautiful.

This is the second of Tomihiko Morimi’s novels to be adapted by Yuasa, and it’s evident that his direction and production company Science Saru’s art style perfectly complement Morimi’s tales of adventure and love. Set in the same universe as The Tatami Galaxy, the film’s story is wonderfully weird and fantastical. One minute The Girl With Black Hair is having a drinking contest with an infamous gangster; the next she’s the lead in a clandestine theatre troupe’s play – it’s all very dreamlike.

The characters are loveable too, and the way they deal with their troubles is oddly charming. Yuasa has created a masterful film filled with adventure, mystery and sweet romance – you’ll wish that this night never ends.

Review by Roxy Simons

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