Mind Game

Name: Mind Game
Genre: Adventure, Mystery, Fantasy, Comedy, Animation
Released: September 2, 2005
Duration: 103 min
Rating: 66
Cast: Jôji Shimaki, Kenichi Chujou, Koji Imada, Rintarou Nishi, Sayaka Maeda

2005

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 6 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 18 Ratings

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7.5

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7.5	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 18 Ratings

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Mind Game (US Trailer)

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Movie Details & Credits

GKIDS | Release Date: September 2, 2005 | Not Rated

Starring: Jôji Shimaki, Kenichi Chujou, Koji Imada, Rintarou Nishi, Sayaka Maeda, Seiko Takuma, Takashi Fujii, Tomomitsu Yamaguchi, Toshio Sakata

Summary: A wildly psychedelic ride through Osaka's backstreets, the afterlife, and a whale's belly. Incorporating photo frames of the actual voice-actors’ faces, the film reflects the rough aesthetic of the young production house Studio 4c, as well as an emerging anime trend toward DJ-style visual sampling. [Museum of Modern Art]

Director: Kôji Morimoto and Masaaki Yuasa

Genre(s): Adventure, Mystery, Fantasy, Comedy, Animation

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 103 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Phil Hall

Put simply, Mind Game is a mind-blowing experience. Read full review

Simon Abrams

The exhilarating Japanese animated coming-of-age fantasy Mind Game plays out like a hallucinogen-fueled shaggy-dog joke that only ends after twenty-year-old horndog Nishi (Kôji Imada) discovers that the world does not revolve around him. Read full review

Ronnie Scheib

Brain-teasing, wildly unpredictable animated feature. Read full review

TV Guide Magazine Maitland McDonagh

A virtuoso experiment in animation that combines traditional anime aesthetics style with a variety of Western animation styles. Read full review

Ed Halter

All scrunched together into a dense marathon of optical-cranial overload, this mental puzzle-box arrives three decades too late for what would have been an inevitable midnight movie run, but undoubtedly there are American otakus popping this one into multi-region DVD players right now amid the glorbeling of bong hits. Read full review

Dana Stevens

A sometimes enthralling, sometimes exhausting tour de force. Read full review

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User Reviews

spacecatneko

Oct 1, 2016

Never have I seen a film with such a profound pro-life message that had left me with a sense that anything can be done so long as one exerts the effort with the right intent. It's had a huge impact on me creatively. Other films WISH they were this exciting.

Others who have rated this filmNever have I seen a film with such a profound pro-life message that had left me with a sense that anything can be done so long as one exerts the effort with the right intent. It's had a huge impact on me creatively. Other films WISH they were this exciting.

Others who have rated this film low did not understand it, probably just expected another anime flick.
It's quite artsy and it does and succeeds doing things I've never seen done in a film before. Nishi as a protagonist is a reflection of anyone who sits down to watch this - whether you see yourself in him or not is up to the viewer.

The lack of popularity of this amazing movie can only be contributed to oversaturation of the market with soap-opera and harem type of stories, which, if you're looking for in this one, there's very little to be had. This film is about each of us and our journey to discovering our true potential.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

WhisperingGhost

Feb 24, 2020

Almost gave this a 10. Art style is off the chain. One of the best anime films I’ve seen in a long time.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

StephenB.

Jun 19, 2006

Its hard to believe this movie was ever made, could ever be made - so dense, it seems like a condensation of several seasons of some anime TV series - all chopped together, stirred (in your head) and spilled out in glorious chaos. Once the trip is over, you are left realising that life - as Its hard to believe this movie was ever made, could ever be made - so dense, it seems like a condensation of several seasons of some anime TV series - all chopped together, stirred (in your head) and spilled out in glorious chaos. Once the trip is over, you are left realising that life - as ugly and crazy as it seems - is worth the living.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

Gamzguy17

Aug 21, 2021

A vanity project, but one that has some heart with its characters and a purpose to be so wild with its various animation methods.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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