Mememe no kurage

How to describe Jellyfish Eyes? I guess it's a kid's movie about Tamagotchi sort of things that come to life, or maybe they're better described as extra ugly Pokémon. There's a whole conspiracy plot where the monsters were designed for an evil purpose. It gets weirdly dark at points. It gets very boring at points. At other times, it's so nuts it kind of feels fun. I guess it's creative and unique, but it's very messy.

I wanted to give this movie a fair chance. It has a pretty terrible reputation, to put it mildly. I imagined people were being overly critical, because at a first glance, it looked weird, rather than bad. And most people will likely appreciate that weird does not equal bad. I was hoping it might be the good kind of weird, or at least just the neutral kind of weird (can weird be neutral? Maybe I'm stretching this now).

And for a point, it does just feel like a really odd kid's movie. It was kind of tolerable. But after the first maybe 40 minutes, it becomes a tonal nightmare. It has no idea what it wants to be, and the genre-hopping is more awkward than fun or thrilling. The second act is dire.

There's a giant monster near the end. That was fun. I like big monsters in movies. It had me thinking maybe this wasn't the worst thing ever. I mean, of course it's not. Some of it's watchable. Some of the bizarre stuff is entertaining because it's bizarre. But the film as a whole... the execution is way off. My heart's telling me to give it a 2.5/5 for the novelty, but my head says it probably deserves less.

This mastermind of a brilliant handwriting in art of storytelling is beyond mere mortal comprehension. The depths of human ego it dives into give great rennasanice to human mind. A film creation to be held up to the heavens for ages to come. We believe in these Jellyfish Eyes. They lead to great awakening. One would live without completion if one did not partake in such beauty of film making experience.

Be good to your own self by looking upon this majestic masterpiece. I suggest the viewing to be paired with Cuttlefish in it's Ink & Gremolata. Along with a fine brie and aged Jellyfish vino. God speed.

Those who are familiar with Takashi Murakami's work will instantly recognize the elements that are the essentials of his art in Jellyfish Eyes, which goes beyond the instantly recognizable creatures (F.R.I.E.N.D.s). There is the plot line, which is classic melodramatic anime plot that has elements of family life, school life, and supernatural science fiction stuff. The "good" characters are interested, and at times conflicted, but the "bad" characters (there really is only one outwardly and consistently super bad guy with an evil laugh) lack dimension. The dialog (in Japanese) sounds just like the overwrought dialog of an epic anime series; you could close your eyes and swear this is an anime show! And then there is the real stuff, which may not be too obvious to the Western audience, but all too familiar to the Japanese, I imagine: the dad who died in the national disaster, the stay in the evacuation center that is mentioned twice, the religious cults that found an increasing number of followers after the recent events in Japan, the age-old idea that war and destruction is cleansing and required for a new beginning... The negative energy cloud that looks a lot like an inverted atom bomb mushroom...

All in all, highly recommended for people who like Japanese anime, epic stories, and weird science. Not recommended for anyone who is not open to the anime tradition, as expecting something different will cause disappointment. Also, recommended for Godzilla and cheekama fans!

For starters, this movie isn't for everyone. I think if you're a fan of Takashi Murakami's work, Digimon, and Pokémon then yes it's for you. It's something different and unique compared to other CGI films I seen before. You can tell the influences were from Digimon, possibly Yokai Watch, Totoro, and Summer Wars. Despite some of the somewhat corny green screen scenes, this movie is a gem. I would definitely buy this on DVD to one day show to my future kids. If this movie was an anime it would of been TOO much compared to Pokémon & the others. I think Takashi made the right choice to make it an interesting CGI movie.

Young Masashi moves with his mother to a small town after his father is killed in the earthquake and tsunami of 2011, a town that is home to a large, and largely secret, laboratory where Masashi's uncle works. As soon as he arrives, he meets a small flying monster living in the apartment and, as he becomes friends with it, he names it Kurage-bo ("Jellyfish boy"). Soon he finds that all the kids in school have their own special monsters, called a F.R.I.E.N.D., which they can control with the use of a cell-phone type device. Masashi doesn't have such a device, however, and some of the other boys are using their creatures to fight one another, bullying the smaller creatures and kids. Why are these creatures there, and does the laboratory have anything to do with it? What is the laboratory trying to create, anyway, and will that secret work be a force for good or for evil in the world? Masashi, Kurage-bo and some other young children and creatures may have to sacrifice all to find out....

This is a very sweet, somewhat poignant children's movie, that draws upon manga, Pokemon and, to my eyes anyway, some muppets as well, in order to create a world in which the environmental changes caused by humans are able to be explored. It's absolutely gorgeous to look at, sometimes psychedelic even, and while the story-line sometimes jumps rather abruptly, the film's pro-environmental message is nicely stated. Quite a feast for the eyes!