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Movie Title: My Neighbors the Yamadas My Neighbors the Yamadas is available for streaming or downloading. |
Created after an idea of the popular Japanese comic book author Isaichi Ishii, this movie tells nine amusing and moving episodes from the every day life of a “totally normal” Japanese family.
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Mischievousely, “My Neighbours, The Yamadas” describes the problems and quarrels that raise from marriage and generation conflicts. Thus, the author paints the lively and colourful portrait of a family who is an explosive mixture of eccentric, yet highly sympathical individualists.
At the same time the wonderfully drawn movie doesn’t lack depth. The poesy of every day life which filters through the lives of the Yamadas is summed up at the end of each chapter in an haiku (most of them by Basho). Being a basic part of Japanese culture and spirituality, these short poems fit the respective characters’ philosophy excellently.
A deeper symbolic dimension opens to the viewer in the partially grotesque/surrealistic scenes of the movie. A flashback shows us the Yamadas as honeymooners riding a gigantic wedding cake. Long married, they try vehemently to get the upper hand in the daily quarrel over the TV programme and both fight virtuousely in Japanese fencing style over the remote control.
“My Neighbours, The Yamadas” premiered extremely successfully in 2000 at the Anime-Festival in Annecy (France).
This quirky comic strip family is lovingly brought to life in Houhokekyo tonari no Yamada-kun (My Neighbors the Yamadas). Mom (Matsuko), Dad (Takashi), Grandma (Shige), Noboru and Nonoko, and family dog Pochi are presented in a series of vignettes, from Matsuko and Takashi’s wedding (complete with a dream sequence comparing marriage to a bobsled run and being tossed on stormy seas), to a forgetful day (blame the ginger!), to a hilarious nighttime encounter with motorcycle punks. The animation style is very low-key, taking its visual cues from pen-and-ink comics and a pastel wash. Less is more, as the mere outline of shoji screens and sakura (cherry blossoms) suffices to paint a minimalist picture of modern Japan. Poetry by Basho rounds out each clip. This is a wonderful introduction to Japanese culture, from proper dining etiquette (DON’T dump your rice into your soup 
, to Japanese homes (noren, airing out futons, place settings, traditional food such as miso, tamago, and tempura, changing into slippers when entering homes) wedding ceremonies, and more.
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Some reviewers have mentioned that the stories lack cohesiveness, but I greatly enjoyed this unusual portrait of family life that looked at parent-child relations, marriage, salarymen, and the power of imagination. Although Disney dubbed this with an all-star cast (James Belushi, David Ogden Stiers), I didn’t listen to the English dub, so I can’t comment on the English cast (I prefer to view anime in the original Japanese with English subtitles to practice my Japanese listening comprehension). A vast departure from other Takahata Isao films (like Grave of the Fireflies), but an enjoyable one nonetheless, particularly if you are already familiar with elements of Japanese culture.