This is surely one of the most bizarre and mystery-shrouded anime features of the last decade: Midori. The name will probably not be familiar, but the comic on which the film was based has been released here under the title Mr. Arashi`s Amazing Freak Show. Yes, this film is an adaptation of a comic by the uncontested king of ero-guro, Maruo Suehiro. It`s remarkable enough that a Maruo Suehiro anime exists in the first place, but no less remarkable are the circumstances surrounding the film`s origin and presentation to the public.
Where to begin? First of all, Midori is a rather hard film to classify. It`s anime, but it`s not. Anime is known for being rather limited, but this film takes limited to a whole new level. It`s closer to a kami shibai or paper play, a type of one-man entertainment that was popular in pre-WWII Japan. Maruo`s original comic is in fact an adaptation of a kami shibai, so it`s an appropriate analogy. And the remarkable thing is that this anime version really is a one-man entertainment: every drawing you see in the 52 minute film was drawn by one person, thereby making it true to the spirit of the original - a modern kami shibai. Attempting such a thing is pretty much pure insanity. It wound up taking this person five years to make the film. The madman in question is one Hiroshi Harada ???.
(Summary from http://www.pelleas.net/aniTOP/index.php?&m=20040921)
52-minute Movie
Animation: Hiroshi Harada
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