Do you remember when you were growing up and you discovered that one something that really spoke to you? It might have been a Spider-Man comic book. Or the music of Bruce Springsteen. It could have been The Lord of the Rings. Or Harry Potter. Now do you remember the first time you met that one other person who loved it just as much as you did? What was that feeling? Happiness? Affirmation? Comfort in the knowledge that you were not alone? Or was it some combination of all three?
It’s been so long that I had forgotten what that felt like. Until now. Until Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!
Every once in a while there comes a series that is joyous, and pure, and inspiring. That is an uncynical celebration of humanity and all of its quirks. That manages to somehow be clever and insightful, yet funny and entertaining. Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! is that series. It is my new anime obsession and the perfect counter programming for 2020.
Based on the manga by Sumito Ōwara, Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! is ostensibly about three high-school girls – the obsessive nerd Asakusa, the talented and ebullient Mizusaki, and the poker-faced Kanamori – who form a film club at their school so they can make their own anime. The series tracks their madcap adventures, cutting back and forth between reality and the expansive worlds they’ve conjured in their minds, as they enthusiastically work towards their creative ambitions.
On the one hand, Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! provides a deep cut into the struggles of those working in anime. Through Asakusa, Mizusaki, and Kanamori, who play surrogates for the director, artist, and producer respectively, we are given some insight into the issues that plague the industry and the conversations it inspires; everything from the long hours and low wages, to the ongoing debate between digital and hand drawn animation, to that perennial conflict between art and commerce. It is nuanced. It is timely and relevant. And it manages to perfectly capture that painful dichotomy between the art we love and the sometimes unpleasant reality that goes into its creation.
It’s all very smart. It’s all very meta. It’s all very important.
For me, however, the true genius of the series lies in its secondary message about the power of friendship, of finding your tribe, and discovering your place and purpose in this world.
Asakusa, Mizusaki, and Kanamori are perfectly drawn in every way. These aren’t caricatures. They are beautifully fleshed out characters, with actual personalities and meaningful interactions. Their relationships with one another are real and believable. And their friendship proves foundational to who they become as people.
All of these metaphors and conceits only work because of Masaaki Yuasa’s incredible direction. I loved the way the animation reflected Asakusa’s growth. What begins with her early line drawings, slowly but surely evolve into these wonderfully elaborate creations with perspective, and depth, and colour. As Asakusa becomes increasingly confident as an artist, so too does her view of the world.
Asakusa’s imagination is the catalyst that brings these girls together. It is what unites them and gives them common purpose. The power and import of having a childlike imagination is a foundational theme of this series, and while it may seem simplistic – even reductive – to say that within that lies the solutions to most of our problems, it nevertheless remains an undeniable truth. These 12 episodes are a reminder for us to reconnect to that side of our brains. To revisit all of the things that brought us so much joy as children.
With Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! Masaaki Yuasa has written a love letter to the genre. I have no doubt that every anime fan will be able to relate to the opening few minutes of the series, when Asakusa puts on an episode of “Conaso of the Lost Island” (which seems to be an analogue for Miyazaki’s Future Boy Conan), and how it blows her mind, and inspires her lifelong obsession.
This is precisely the kind of wonderfully life affirming content that you need to round off this awful, awful year. I love this series with all my heart. Find it. Watch it. Do it right now. I promise it’ll make you feel better about life and the world around you.
Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!
Season 1, 10 episodes
Director: Masaaki Yuasa
Writer: Masaaki Yuasa and Yūichirō Kido
Cast: Sairi Itō, Mutsumi Tamura, Misato Matsuoka, Yumiri Hanamori, Miyuki Kawashō, Mikako Komatsu, Hiroko Kiso, Ryō Matsuzaki, Yūki Ono, Yūsuke Kobayashi, Ryūnosuke Watanuki, Shiori Izawa, and Kazuhiko Inoue
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