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When you think of Japanese animation, it's all big eyes and inappropriate panty shots, which is why director/writer/editor Ujicha's Violence Voyager is completely out of the ordinary in every... single... way. No, this isn't a typical anime-it's something very different: a no-holds-barred, surreal horror flick that just happens to be animated like a children's storybook. By that, I mean it's as though the characters of an illustrated Roald Dahl book stepped off the page and started moving around their bizarre, twisted environments.

Violence Voyager isn't animated in the traditional sense-the characters are rendered as detailed, hand-painted cutouts and "puppeteered" in a technique called "geki-mation." It takes a moment to get used to, but once you're in the groove, it works magnificently and gives the film a unique look and feel.

The uniqueness doesn't stop at the presentation, with the story following Bobby-a young American boy living in Japan-who goes on a quest to climb the mountain outside town with his friend, Akkun. On their journey, they discover a mysterious theme park hidden in the woods. The owner, Koike, lets them in for free and equips them with water pistols to fight off the "robot invaders" that populate the facility. They soon run across a group of children trapped in the park whose bodies appear to be undergoing unexplainable, nightmarish changes. To Bobby and Akkun's horror, they find the exits sealed, and the children must band together to escape.

Between the art design, the creepy music, and an overall sense of dread, Violence Voyager is a really impressive piece of work that managed to take even me-someone who feels like they've seen it all when it comes to horror-off guard. It's truly twisted in a way that only the Japanese seem to pull off, and the disconnected-from-reality animation allows it to go places live action never could.

The crudely depicted but graphic violence (against children, no less) is grim and unsettling, and I loved it. I didn't know where Ujicha was taking me, but I was strapped in for every chicane and hairpin he barrelled me around. This is what I'm looking for in horror: something that takes me to the edge of what's acceptable, something that shows me things I've never seen before and presents them in a unique way. Violence Voyager delivers!

And in being such a unique work, it restricts itself to what I could only imagine is a niche audience. If this thing made it to the mainstream of Netflix, the chorus of indignant cries would be deafening. Beyond the disturbing nature of the story, there's a decent amount of child nudity, and even though they're just drawings, they'd no doubt send the wowsers* into a frenzy.

I personally wasn't bothered by any of the questionable material. After all, it's just animation. Or, should I say, geki-mation? If I had to nitpick anything, the narrative leaves more than a few questions, but it's so batsh!t AND apesh!t (in fact, an ape and a bat fight alongside the main characters at one point) that it really doesn't matter. I feel like there are some references that were lost in translation here and there, but I was having so much fun that I wasn't bothered.

I'm sure Ujicha has hidden metaphor in there somewhere too. I'd hedge my bets on it being about puberty and coming of age-I mean, the characters' bodies undergoing radical changes and shooting wads of white goo all over the place has gotta mean something. But then again, it could just be pure insanity.

If I had to pitch Violence Voyager to a studio exec, I'd say it's Stand By Me mixed with Pinocchio, mixed with Jurassic Park, mixed with Battle Royale, mixed with The Human Centipede. Yes, that's right. It's all those things and more. Hunt it down if you know what's good for you.

I cannot believe how few people have seen this thus far! This is a bit of a masterwork from a new visionary just waiting to be discovered by the masses.

First of all, I just have to say how grateful I am whenever I witness someone still making what I've always referred to as "children's horror". There was a brief period of time, mostly through the 80's and the early 90's where this type of dark fantasy with child protagonists was quite common and popular (along the lines of The Neverending Story, Nicolas Roeg's The Witches, The Peanut Butter Solution, or Nickelodeon's classic Are You Afraid Of The Dark series). Nowadays this a rare sub-genre, especially to find visionary gems in. Well, Ujicha is here now for those of us who appreciate it. His film definitely nods to other iconic works and products of the past, but tastefully and subtly (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles anyone?). In the big picture, Violence Voyager always maintains its own ground as its own singular thing.

Ujicha's unique style of art and the way he animates it is wholly his own and endlessly stimulating. I've never seen anything quite like it. It's always slightly discomforting, and then, it gets far more visceral than one would expect, which actually has the exact same trajectory as the movie itself. This appears to be done through paintings and cutouts of said paintings, then using layers to create depth, with pretty minimal movement that created a dreamlike vibe almost comparable to the early segments of Belladonna of Sadness, or something. Then, the extra magic touch, is when he uses physical gasses and liquids to add a certain life to the scenes - every time this occurs it is equally effective and satisfying. It's ace.

What begins as a seemingly normal day for a bunch of innocent children quickly spirals out into an absolutely twisted little adventure. Thematically, and even visually, the movie does go some places that one would certainly not expect based on the tone of the beginnings of the film. If anyone's gonna do this, it's Japan - and I love them for it. This isn't a film that you're going to want to show to your actual child - a lot of it would be nightmarish and perhaps traumatizing, both visually and psychologically. But, if you've got a wild enough 12 year old, they might be ready for it. Not just trying to plug my own work here, but Violence Voyager matches the tone of my first fiction novel, Popping Cherries, more so than almost anything else I have ever seen - so of course I feel a natural bond with it - I love this kind of stuff! I dream of doing a graphic novel or animated film of it some day - and this is a beautiful example of how this kind of work can be done right.

I watched the version with English dubs, considering it was the only version available on Amazon Prime Video. The voice work definitely could have been better, but after the first five to ten minutes, you just get used to it. My only qualm with the entire experience was that I felt some of the voice work could have been a little less cheesy, and the audio mix in general was a little strange - I would have mixed it differently myself. There were some really cool music cues on the film score that were super buried in the mix when they could have been cranked up for vibe and effect in a lot of sequences. I did love when all the grotesque sound effects were all up front in the mix though - that's always a ton of fun. Any way, I acknowledge the fact that this movie would probably be best viewed with the original Japanese audio - a solid reason for me to buy the Blu-Ray, I suppose. This is a movie I would actually love to add to my small collection.

Remember the name Ujicha and see this movie! I can't wait to explore more of his work. Burning Buddha Man next! Very exciting!

Judging by the trailer alone, Violence Voyager gives the impression of a flashy puppet show. However, seeing the film in action proves what a unique and diligently crafted piece of cinema it is.

Taking place late in summer, two boys (Bobby and Akkun) stumble across a mysterious theme park known as Violence Voyager; which paints itself as a participatory attraction, in which you must fight robots to save humanity. After finding the more nefarious meaning of the park, the film transitions into a majestic and beautifully presented motion horror comic that completely defies expectation.

The aesthetics of the film are beyond reproach, with lovingly crafted characters dangling in front of the camera against rich backgrounds of varying complexity and thematic significance. It's difficult to really describe the style of the cinematography beyond saying that if you can imagine a puppet show shot and edited together like a motion picture then you might be somewhat close to describing it.

The fluidity of the film is startling, and is a testament to Uchija's talent. Although the mouths of the characters don't move and their range of spatial movement is limited the sense of emotion and the use of exaggerated facial expressions really bridges the gap where actual characterization would normally be found.

This characterization plays into the tone of the film that feels like a horror comic or science fiction/horror anime from the 80s or 90s. This is further bolstered by a whimsical sense of humor that permeates the entire film. You need not consider Violence Voyager to be a dramatic masterpiece, there is no pretense that it is one, but the deft blending of body horror, comedy and suspense is remarkably palpable through the entire 120 minute run time of the film. There is an undercurrent of humor running throughout Violence Voyager that is almost like a life line; cutting through any treacle and weaving together disparate shots into something that is constantly moving and entertaining. An example of this is a bat that is saved early in the film, who we learn later is an incredibly hungry boy, but that is best saved for you to see. This running joke is indicative of the sense of identity the film possesses; a loving poise that is truly appreciative of its audiences wish to be entertained while not distracting from the events at hand. It's all incredibly cohesive.

Beyond the arresting visuals and spirited action of the narrative is a measured, punchy soundtrack that evokes a real sense of horror films from the 1980s. This plays exceptionally well into the unfolding narrative and further smooths out the incredible sense of progression the film possesses. The voice acting in the Japanese dub is also extremely entertaining and has a lot in common with the tropes of "Coming of Age" anime and Japanese dramas of the late 80s and early 90s.

The action only stumbles when Uchija forgets, or doesn't bother to elaborate on certain elements of the story which seem significant. Some of these elements are paramount to the plot and are quite literally just vomited out near the end of the film. It's disappointing as if he had paced the drip feed of information surrounding the mythos of the Violence Voyager theme park and its unhinged caretaker a little bit better it would have made an already highly enjoyable narrative even more cohesive. The film almost doesn't seem long enough. An extra 10 minutes would have provided ample opportunity to give more context to some of the more bizarre body horror and strengthened its impact beyond a simple explanation that: "this thing is necessary for this thing to do this".

Above all else, however, Violence Voyager is bordering on being a masterpiece of modern animation. The adroit blending of mixed media to create a traditional cinematic experience that completely defies audience expectation coupled with a refreshingly original story and some excellent humor tucked into an already satisfying narrative makes for an unmissable film. Small missteps in the pacing and content of the narrative hold the experience back just enough for it to miss the mark of perfection, but being this close is an extraordinary achievement and one Uchija should be very proud of.

Violence Voyager is an utterly unmissable film. If you consider yourself to be a fan of experimental animation, animation in general or just science fiction or body horror, then you absolutely must see it. Highly recommended.

It took significantly-longer to make than his previous Geki-mation movie, "Burning Buddha Man'" and there is improvements in technical concepts but Ujicha's unique arthouse style remains the same.

It is a truly bizarre and warped 80 minutes + where the journey of Bobby, an American foreign student, has his life changed in an incredibly brutal and sad way.

The tiny artistic drawings of characters with their own props were shot on a Fujifilm camera by Ujicha himself. The hand-drawn figures were done in great detail by Ujicha as well as the storyline.

Ujicha made a concept movie similar to Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park and Toy Story with emphasis on a mad scientist and people-fused-robots instead of dinos being the focal point.

It is also a romantic movie and a childhood dream of escapism. Yet it all goes very wrong. I don't want to give the storyline away but you have to watch it to discover.

Fabulous release on Third Window Films, yet again. 8/10. Listen to the Director commentary and interview for unique insight into his weird and wonderful mind!

Just saw this at the Calgary Underground Film Festival and am kind of at a loss to describe this film. I'll admit I was very disappointed that the version screened was an English dub as the Japanese cast was stellar and I'm a big fan of both Daisuke Ono and Naoki Tanaka (from Cocorico).

Violence Voyager is very firmly rooted in the ero-guro-nansensu movement, with a heavy emphasis on the grotesque and absurd. The animation is done with painted paper cutouts that occasionally interact with 3D elements, this style is very similar to the 2007 version of Dante's Inferno which was animated with cardboard puppets. Everything about Violence Voyager is a labour of love, from its creation by one man, to the creation of the park in the story (also by one man), love is the main motivator of all characters. There are many references to kaiju and tokusatsu films ( I mostly spotted Gamera monsters like Guiron). This film is not for the easily disturbed and there is a lot of body horror, child nudity, and violence. While there's a lot of laughter to be had it's mostly out of bewilderment and general absurdity rather than the genuinely comedic. In all this is a great film to go blind into if you love the truly bizarre and underground, or have a passion for guro. Skip the English dub if you're able.