This is the North American premiere of anime director Mamoru Oshii's highly satirical and subversive mock documentary. It's a huge departure from the more mainstream science fiction anime films like Ghost in the Shell, Patlabor, and Urusei Yatsura which have made Oshii famous. Most people outside of Japan will probably be a bit mystified by the subject matter. It's a scholarly exposé of the post-war phenomenon of the fast-food grifters–individuals who make a living by scamming free meals out of the noodle shops and fast-food outlets of Japan.
The film was rendered in a stylish new 2-D 3-D process. It looks sort of like a computerized version of the cut-out animations Terry Gilliam pioneered in Monty Python's Flying Circus. The visual look suits the story of this motley collection of characters.
In post-war occupied Tokyo, Moongaze Ginji is the original grifter, beguiling the hapless noodle shop owner with his philosophizing over the landscape of egg, soba noodles, and broth in the bowl. Foxy Croquette O-Gin is the first female grifter, wielding her feminine charms for her favorite dish of Kisune Soba with a Croquette. Beefbowl Ushigoro bankrupts a restaurant chain with his gluttonous gang. Frankfurter Tatsu still obsesses over his failure at ******land (I'm not sure if it was part of the joke to bleep this out or if Oshii-san got a visit from Mickey's lawyers–don't mess with the mouse!).
So what significance is this subject matter especially to an audience that is not Japanese? My guess is that Oshii is commenting on the state of post-war Japanese society. These characters are outsiders surviving on the periphery of Japanese society. Japan recovered from the war and launched its economic miracle, but not everyone benefitted. Those forgotten, ignored, and left behind are represented here. This is an uniquely Japanese tale in a Swiftian vein.
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