Underplayed Gems

Benkei tai Ushiwaka (1939)

Benkei tai Ushiwaka poster
Original title
べんけい対ウシワカ
Directed by
Kenzō Masaoka
Genre
action, animation, comedy, Action, Comedy
Country
Japan
Runtime
15 min
Rating
6.8 of 10 from 4 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

This is a short anime film about two legendary figures from Japanese history. A young warrior named Ushiwaka uses skills learned from mythical creatures to defeat a monk named Benkei who is trying to take his sword. After their fight on a bridge, Benkei becomes Ushiwaka's follower.

historicalswordplaymonochromefast-pacedmythicenergeticwhimsicaldramatic

What happens

Benkei tai Ushiwaka (べんけい対ウシワカ; trans. Benkei and Ushiwaka) is a 1939 Japanese short anime film made by Kenzō Masaoka. It is based on the legendary encounter between Saitō Musashibō Benkei, who was collecting swords for the Buddha, and Minamoto no Yoshitsune, who was called Ushiwaka in his youth. After training under the tengu of Mt. Kurama, Ushiwaka foils Benkei's attempt to take his sword in a battle on Gojo Bridge in Kyoto and makes Benkei his vassal. Masaoka was known for helping introduce sound and cel animation to anime, and here he tried the American practice of animating after recording some of the sound (instead of dubbing after the animation was finished). Masaoka did the voice of Benkei, and his wife Ushiwaka. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

This page is from Underplayed Gems. Not quite it? You can browse by genre, country and year, or take this one into the 3D catalogue and ask the Catbot for something closer.