Underplayed Gems

Spring and Chaos (1996)

Spring and Chaos poster
Original title
イーハトーブ幻想 Kenjiの春
Directed by
Shōji Kawamori
Genre
drama anime and manga, fantasy anime and manga
Country
Japan
Runtime
56 min
Rating
7.6 of 10 from 12 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 anime special tells the story of poet Kenji Miyazawa through a fantastical lens where characters are depicted as cats. It follows his life and creative work, blending real events with the imaginative world of his poetry.

contemplativemelancholicdreamlikequietnostalgicwistfulpoeticgentle

What happens

Spring and Chaos (イーハトーブ幻想 Kenjiの春, Īhatōbu Gensō Kenji no Haru; lit, Ihatov Fantasy: Kenji's Spring) is a 1996 Japanese anime television special inspired by the life of poet Kenji Miyazawa, released in Japan to mark the 100th anniversary of Miyazawa's birth. It was directed by Shoji Kawamori. It was released in North America by Tokyopop. Miyazawa and the other characters in the program are depicted as cats, similar to the anime adaptation of Miyazawa's story Night on the Galactic Railroad. The North American title Spring and Chaos derives from the title of Miyazawa's poetry collection Spring and Asura (Haru to Shura), the title poem of which is recited in part in the program. The "Ihatov" in the Japanese title is a setting in a number of Miyazawa's works; it is the word Miyazawa created in Esperanto for his place of residence, Japan's Iwate Prefecture. (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.