Spring and Chaos (1996)

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

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)

Trailer

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