Seasonal Recommendations No.7] Let's experience a variety of "beauty" in the deepening autumn. Artistic animation depicting the world of art

Each season has its own anime that can be enjoyed only at this time of year!　Our anime writers will introduce you to good new and old works on seasonal topics.

Manga and anime are great, but so is art!　Anime is a gateway to many activities and works that create and express "beauty," such as fine arts, classical music, and theater. In this autumn season of the arts, why don't you come in touch with the world of art, where you can learn about diverse values?

Detective Conan: The Sunflower on Fire (released in 2015)

Van Gogh's famous painting "Sunflowers," once believed to have been destroyed by fire in Japan, was sold at auction, and the first exhibition of seven existing "sunflowers" in the world was to be held in Japan. Immediately after the successful bid, however, the Phantom Thief Kid appears with the sunflowers in his sights. A spectacular battle unfolds over the sunflowers collected in the museum, which boasts iron-clad security. ......

The 19th film in the "Detective Conan" series, which "looks like a child but has the brain of an adult," is an art mystery based on the masterpiece "Sunflowers," left behind by the master painter Van Gogh, which is said to be the greatest treasure of mankind. The film is full of art trivia, mystery-solving fun, and, of course, the action that only a movie can provide. This is an entertaining film that will keep you entertained from beginning to end.

The cool and mysterious Phantom Thief Kid is a mischievous thief who is good at disguises and magic, and is the most popular character in the series who only targets jewelry. In this film, he targets "Sunflowers" and goes to wild lengths, even to the point of hurting people in order to achieve his goal. Why in the world would he do such a thing? ......" is one of the mysteries to be solved.

Gallery Fake (broadcast 2005)

Gallery Fake, located on Tokyo's waterfront, is, as the name suggests, an art gallery specializing in forgeries and reproductions. The owner, Reiji Fujita, is a former curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (known as "MET"), but behind the scenes, he is notorious in the art world for his connections to the underworld, selling artwork that is notorious. Fujita, who has a keen eye for beauty and a deep knowledge and appreciation of art, confronts a variety of cases involving beauty on the world stage.

Fujita is the "Black Jack" of the art world. The story revolves around Fujita, his assistant Sarah, and the director of the Takata Museum of Art, Sayoko Mita, and involves a variety of characters. Since the theme is art, art and crafts from the East and West appear in the story, with plenty of trivia to be learned, and the depth of the story can be enjoyed.

Incidentally, the episode in which Sarah appears is the one in which Fujita solves a mystery related to Van Gogh's "Sunflowers," which went missing during the war, and is the same subject as the movie version of "Detective Conan: Sunflowers over Fire. It would be interesting to compare the two stories based on the same famous painting.

GA Art Department Art Design Class (Broadcasted in 2009)

The five girls in "GA," the art design class in the art department of Saii High School, are all individualists who go at their own pace, and they all love art. They all love art. With their help, everything in their casual school life, from classes to play, becomes an interesting and fun work of art and expression!

This heartwarming comedy is based on a four-frame comic book. You will feel as if you were a student in the art department, and while you are enjoying yourself, you will also acquire expertise in painting and design.

The five main girls have a variety of personalities, including a natural go-getter, a fashionable mood-maker, a runaway girl, a mysterious type, and a sensible person who is in charge of making a comment. Even if you don't have any special incidents, just watching these fun-loving girls and being healed by their everyday life is enough to make you enjoy the experience.

Hyakkiben - Miss HOKUSAI (2015)

Katsushika Hokusai's daughter, Oei, is herself an ukiyoe artist in the same line of work as her father. Despite being a woman, she is highly regarded for her painting skills, but perhaps because she is clumsy in love, she is sometimes depressed when people say that her paintings lack sex appeal. Centering on the father and daughter, the story depicts the daily life of an Edo town filled with joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, the lifestyle of an ukiyoe artist, and family love, all in the rich colors of the four seasons.

The film is an animated adaptation of the original comic by Hinoko Sugiura. The most appealing thing about this film is that you can feel the atmosphere of the Edo period, which was filled with the vitality of the common people. Sometimes, the strange things that lurk in the everyday life are revealed by chance. It is said that the skill of an "artist" is to capture and preserve them on paper.

Tetsuzo (Hokusai), who lives in a tenement with his daughter and apprentices, is only interested in painting. As a father, he falls short, but both his wife and daughters accept such a Tetsuzo. This is a story of a genius who is different from ordinary people, and a story that gives us a sense of the karma of a painter. This may make you see the ukiyo-e that remain in the world today as something very human and fascinating.

Barakaman (broadcast in 2014)

After Seishu Handa, a handsome young calligrapher, punches a leading figure in the world of calligraphy, he begins to live alone on Goto, an island at the western end of Japan with rich nature, in order to face calligraphy and grow as a human being under his father's guidance. For Handa, who grew up in the city and is nervous, the free-spirited islanders and the inconvenient lifestyle are quite a culture shock. However, Handa gradually changes as he undergoes the baptism of country life.

Barakamon" means "energetic person" in the dialect of the Goto Islands. The title evokes the image of Naru Kotoishi, the energetic child who follows Handa around. In the anime, Naru Kotoishi and other little children are played by voice actors who are close in age to the children, and their natural childishness and presence have received great acclaim. The dialogue in the Nagasaki dialect is also pleasant to the ear.

As you and Handa are swept along with the screaming children, the "barakamon" inside you awakens and you want to laugh along with them. It is touching to see Handa's heart being freed and his calligraphy changing as he grows as a person. It reminds us that art is rooted in vibrant humanity.

Nodame Cantabile (broadcast in 2007)

Shinichi Chiaki, an elite music student aspiring to become a conductor, meets Nodame (Megumi Noda), who plays a beautiful piano sonata in a garbage room. The two, one an elite and the other an oddball from the same music college, become a strange bumpy duo who recognize each other's talent. Nodame gradually grows as a pianist as Chiaki draws out her talent. Chiaki, too, is on his way to becoming the conductor he aspires to be, while making more oddball acquaintances.

This is an anime adaptation of the booming music school romantic comedy, which has also been dramatized. Classical music is used in abundance, and it has also become a catalyst for increasing the number of classical music fans among young people. Following the first season, which focused on the slapstick at the music college, the second season, "Nodame Cantabile: Paris Edition" (broadcast in 2008), depicts the days of studying in Paris, and the third season, "Nodame Cantabile: Finale" (broadcast in 2010) depicts the growth as a conductor and performer and the resolution between the two.

Although this work started as an oddball romantic comedy, as Chiaki and Nodame grow, the story becomes intertwined with the way of life of a musician. Is it really happiness to seriously pursue music in life?　Is it not enough to just have fun?　When facing difficulties, does love give people strength or ruin them?　For those who have not seen the show, I urge you to find out where Chiaki and Danome's encounter will end up.

The Glass Mask (broadcast 2005)

Maya Kitajima, an ordinary 13-year-old girl suffering from poverty, is discovered by Chigusa Tsukikage, a famous actress of the past, and develops her talent as an actress. Tsukikage recognizes Maya as a candidate for the leading role in a fantastic masterpiece "Benitenjo" and encourages her growth by having her compete with another young prodigy actress, Ayumi Himekawa.

This is an anime adaptation of Suzue Minauchi's well-known masterpiece. The original work is still being serialized, but this anime, 51 episodes in all, is a unique interpretation of the story and a conclusion to the story. Incidentally, the earlier anime adaptation of "The Glass Mask" (broadcast in 1984) had 23 episodes, until Maya and Ayumi compete with each other for the role of Helen Keller in "The Miracle Worker.

Once again, I feel the insanity of "acting". Maya's talent to play God is nothing short of genius. The theatrical duel between Maya and her elite, brilliant rival, Ayumi, is also a compelling experience. One of the pleasures of the show will be the multi-layered storyline in the play's stage play story performed by Maya.

These are just seven artistic anime works that will bring you in touch with the fascination of art.

What is art?　What is beauty? But when you get right down to it, art is about people, life, and universal values that transcend time. Those who challenge the ultimate in this field must expose themselves to the world with all they have while growing as individuals. It is a harsh, sublime, and yet very human world. Watching anime and thinking about such things may be a suitable way to spend the "autumn of the arts.

(Text by YAMAYU)