Chuumon no Ooi Ryouriten (1991)

Kiruti Jun 5, 2016

7

Before watching the short "The Restaurants of Many Orders", I would highly recommend reading the Japanese literature version online by Kenji Miyazawa.  Why? you asked. Well that's a very good question. Reading the original literature version will give you a little understanding of the short. Also you can make a lot of good or bad comparisons between the literature and short. I'm not very good at explaining, but bare with me. When I first watched this, it was on YouTube without subtitles. You already know how I must've felt, "What in the world is was going on in this short. I need an EXPLANATION!!". So basically I did a little research (When I mean "A little" it means a lot) due to the art style. Also it reminded me all the English teachers I had in the past literature classes and other scary stuff. I know, pretty horrifying isn't it.  So hurry up and read it… Use some of your google skills...I'll even wait for you here. I promise I won't go anywhere. ;) You're back so soon... read it again. Haha joking joking.  Now let's get down to business shall we. I'll try to be vague as possible. Don't say I didn't warn you if I accidentally spoil something in here. Story The story is about two British hunters who got lost in the woods that happens to find a restaurant in the middle of nowhere. I can’t say much more than that because you have to figure the rest yourself. It’s one of those “Ah Ha!” moments or “wow” as in I can’t believe it in a disappointed face, after you heard a silly joke/pun. Animation Okay I’ll be brutally be honest with you. The animation is not my type of style, but it could be probably for you if you like this type of style. There were some scenes I might have spaced out like a second or two, maybe due to the animation. It's pretty detailed and well made throughout the short. One of the most interesting choices the animators did was color of choice (they used that sepia like light brown color in the short). Gives it an old fashion type of vibe, while it supports the creepiness factor. Now I will describe what I felt towards the animation.  “A feeling of an ominous vibe that creeps upon you as  goose bumps starts forming on the back of your neck.Hmm… Or it's more like the dark tones just want to suck the living sunshine out of your room. Okay okay I'm exaggerating a bit there, but I hope you get the point. *starts snickering in the corner*  (ಡ艸ಡ) Sound The sound is pretty interesting because it doesn't have much dialogue, except the signs on every entrance to help guide the hunters to go further in. Everything from the music, pace and a clever use of charades to portray a message is done well enough to understand the overall picture. (Of course if you were me that ended up watching this first with no sub’s, you won’t understand a thing. Just pointing it out there guys.”)  I really like the sound quality in this short. It's just my personal opinion so you may or may not agree with me. Oh well... Just give it a listen. It’s a short so it won’t be a waste time. I hope it doesn’t waste your time. Characters The characters are alright. I'm not good at explaining them. They’re just arrogant British hunters that happened to find a restaurant. One is a chubby round guy with glasses and the other is a tall skinny dude. They both obviously goes in the restaurant without reading "inbetween the lines".  That’s how detailed I can get with these two main characters. Thanks for reading. I hope you have nice day.