Dead Leaves (2004)
Animation Production: I.G.
Released by: Manga Entertainment
Official Website: Dead Leaves
Running Time: 50 Minutes
By Jeffrey Couto

Introduction

Remember an old show on MTV by the name of Liquid Television? It was a program that featured several animation shorts per episode, each assembled by a different creative team. The program was a great showcase for experimental design and storytelling that used everything from classic hand drawn animation to full-fledged computer rendered images to tell stories that for the most part were as abstract as the art style used to tell it

Dead Leaves reminds me a lot of the type of shorts that were featured in that program in that it’s hard to convey in words what it is that the producers and animators have accomplished with this release.

Story

"Pandy and Retro awaken naked on Earth with no recollection of their past. They embark on a devastating crime in search of food, clothing and transportation, but are captured by authorities and sent to the infamous lunar penitentiary named Dead Leaves.

While incarcerated, they quickly discover that Deead Leaves is also a top-secret cloning facility, occupied by villanous guards and deformed genetic experiments. Ultra-manic chaos and hyper-violent bedlam ensure as they organize a prison break with the aid of their fellow mutant inmates.""-- Manga's Dead Leaves Webpage

Review

The story opens as we join our two protagonists, Pandy, a young girl with a pink circle around her left eye, and Retro, who happens to have a monitor for a head. They wake up in a field next to a city with no idea of who they are or why they’re there, all they know is that they need clothes and food. To this end they go into the city and begin a crime spree that ends up getting them captured by the police, who promptly send our strange duo to the lunar prison of Dead Leaves. Here they uncover a villainous plot and begin the process of recovering their memories, but what will they ultimately discover?

Having just seen heart warming movie Doggy Poo, which was a relatively slow paced and colorful short film about the circle of life, Dead Leaves came as a shock to my eyes and processing skills. Its frantic energy, quick moving images, and over-the-top violence were quite a 180 from the other movie. To say that Dead Leaves makes its presence known and noted would be an understatement.

The style of this OVA is without equal and it really does stand out when compared to anything else currently in the market. More so than anything I’ve seen recently every frame of Dead Leaves just seemed to explode with kinetic energy and filled every character with a bizarre onscreen presence that defies explanation.

Final Thoughts

Pretear was a very fun anime to watch. I liked it’s lighthearted feel and the humorous tone many scenes had. Pretear is very highly recommended for fans of Magical Girl shows and fans of Shoujo anime in general. You won’t be disappointed by this one.

Jeffrey Couto