'Tokyo Godfathers (東京ゴッドファーザーズ)' by Kon Satoshi (今敏)

I re-watched Tokyo Godfathers over the Christmas holidays (a most suitable fare it was). I watched it for the first time about two years ago and here are a few things I didn't notice in the first go:

1) Much pain has obviously taken with posters or else public signs in this animated movie. If you look carefully at the opening sequence, you will even see two posters of Director Kon Satoshi's previous works, Perfect Blue パーフェクト・ブルー and Millennium Actress 千年女優:

And then you just have to marvel at the subtle jokes embedded in certain posters in certain scenes. Take the scene below, for example. The poster in the background is a cram school ad which says:

まわりとハッキリ差がつく
英才予備校
入学者随時募集中
('To stand out from the crowd
Elite Preparatory School
Now accepting new pupils')

As you can see, our three homeless protagonists stand out from the crowd in the sense that they are not absorbed in staring at their mobile phones (which they don't have) or reading materials such as books or newspapers (which they never bother with). On top of being a subtle joke, it also serves to emphasize how the trio is disconnected from Society as it is known in Japan at large (世間体).

Then there are the election posters at the scene where the trio encounters a gang boss. It is more or less an understood fact that political parties and crime syndicates are bed fellows in Japan. And there we have a gang boss stuck under the weight of his car being helped by three homeless bums. I could hardly think it is an accident that election posters are chosen as background decoration for this scene.

On a related note - in constrast with posters in public space, there is never a lack of personal photos in the interior of private space. Even at the very beginning of the film, we have a fleeting glimpse a photo of Hana and her (or should we say 'his') ex-boyfriend in the background (there is never a superfluous detail in a Kon Satoshi anime).

And then here again at the home of a Spanish-speaking woman who is likewise an outsider to Society:

And at the drag queen club, likewise populated by those on the margins of society:

The reason why I bring this up is because at the end, Hana and the baby 'Kiyoko' is saved by hanging onto a banner (as well as a timely breeze which makes a parachute of the banner).  I have not been able to make out every word on the three banners hanging on that building, but I am pretty sure that they are New Year greetings.   

The public  posters (tiresome though their messages may sometimes be) are messages from all corners of society that invite response. The posters are symbolic of an invisible  network between individuals in a society and their interdependence on each other. In saving a child, the trio 'return' to that network from which they have been disassociated (they are invited to be godfathers of 'Kiyoko' and are reunited with their respective families), and it is a fitting metaphor that Hana should be saved by a banner.

2) I like the haiku poems Hana recites. I believe they are original poetry:

 

Hana gives me the impression of being almost a wandering minstrel (吟遊楽人) when she (or 'he') recites those poems, which are occasional poems - in other words poems that come forth spontaneously at the call of an occasion, which is just what I believe poetry should be (as opposed to, say, locking yourself up in your room to angst over something entirely imaginary).

3) And then there are the amazingly life-like graphics that almost fool you as being photography:

4) If I haven't said it before, I will say it again - Tokyo Godfathers has my unreserved recommendation. Even the script with its seamless symmetry is a masterpiece in itself. One could go on and on about all its Biblical references of the Three Magi and the Annunciation and so forth (perhaps this is something I will eventually get around to discuss at some point).

And by way of wrapping this up - the great Kon Satoshi has released a new anime called Paprika. You can read more about it here. 

Comments

[Nick]

Thanks for these observations! I had stumbled onto this topic and decided to re-watch Tokyo Godfathers myself to try to catch these moments.

And thanks to your Millennium Actress entry, I've learned something new about Japanese culture/mythology (the crane).

Thank you. I look forward to reading more of your analysis!

-Nick

[Wabisabi]

Thank you for your kind comment here and for spreading the word your blog. Please come and visit often. ^-^

[minus-one]

i'm not much of a fan of Kon Satoshi, but Tokyo Godfathers is really good ^__^ (though slightly hollywood-ish (but that goes for any movie these days)).

(and there was poster of Tokyo Godfathers in Paprika too ;) )

[minus-one]

(sorry for the late posting, there have been flood of comments from your blog in google reader today, i haven't looked at dates :) )

[Wabisabi]

I think 'Millennium Actress' is his greatest. Have you seen it? You can't charge 'Millennium Actress' as being Hollywood-ish.

Google reader must have been acting up.

[Wabi Sabi]

I think Millennium Actress is his greatest. Have you seen it? You can't charge Millennium Actress for being Hollywood-ish.

Google reader must have been acting up.