Animation Runner Kuromi
(2001)
review by Big McLargehuge

The director of Fruit Baskets and Jubai Chan the Ninja Girl brings us a frenetic tale of the life of an anime production manager with Animation Runner Kuromi. When Makiko Oguro, nicknamed “Kuromi” takes her first job out of Tokyo Animation Academy at renowned Studio Petit replacing Ohama a man with a bleeding stomach ulcer (for very good reason as we learn) who leaves the studio in an ambulance. Kuromi is thrust into the overdue production for Time Journeys Episode 2, a program with an airdate only one week away and virtually none of the work done, she has to learn the hard, hard, hard way that creating anime is a hell of a lot harder than she thought.

Anime Runner Kuromi is an anime about creating anime, and for the subject matter alone, is well worth a view. From the chain smoking and amazingly aloof director Shino Matsu, to the clumsy and over reactive voice talent Hosaku, to the studio boss who is already scripting episode 6 while episode 2 still languishes in production, to the vast majority of key frame animators with a litany of personal and professional problems, Anime Runner Kuromi takes some interesting stabs at established genre personalities. Although the vast majority of casual anime viewers will have no idea who the hell at who the jokes are aimed, and that includes me.

What makes Anime Runner Kuromi so amazingly fun is that it presents the material in such a relentless manner that I couldn’t help but get caught up in the whole manic mess. Of course the central struggle in the title is whether Kuromi will adapt to the incredible pressure of the business. Will she quit? Will she stay on? Kuromi is a redemptive character so common in so many anime titles, but to juxtapose her character type to this sort of weirdly off the wall anime is brilliance. She is innocent, headstrong, faced with insurmountable odds, and only through disciplined leadership and careful planning can she hope to deliver Time Journey’s Episode 2 on time.

Animation Runner Kuromi isn’t without its flaws. The tongue-in-cheek nature of the title is evident and spiced with little “doodad animals” who point things out to the audience. Generally I find these amazingly annoying in other titles, here I was happy for the little bit of kinetically delivered extra information. Most of the character expressions range from stone somewhat normal to Chibi (Super-deformed) in response to stress.

Also, the animation of Anime Runner Kuromi is, well, about as good as a Pokemon episode. Which, when considering the subject matter, I guess seems a little strange. I mean, if I were creating something to showcase just how stressful the occupation was I’d at least try to make the animation a little more lively. Many of Kuromi’s characters just twitch a little here and there. Perhaps this is to suggest that Kuromi was rushed in the same manner as the fictional title Time Journeys, but I doubt it.

Central Park Media releases Animation Runner Kuromi in September 2003 on DVD with the following extras: Alternate Angle Storyboard, An Interview with US voice actress Lisa Ortiz, Directors Diary about animation, trailers, Japanese and English Language tracks and English subs.

None of which I’ve seen as the screener was in VHS format.

Keep in mind that Animation Runner Kuromi is all of 40 minutes long, so it’s kind of pricey for a premium title. That said, the subject matter is so unique and fun that I didn’t really mind the short running time.