C.W.B. Bryson

Masaaki Yuasa is one of the most celebrated directors in anime today, and for good reason. His dynamic, fluid style of animation, which creates a look and feel of real movement in all of his projects, is unlike that of any of his peers. He often applies his style to odd narratives with odd art styles, which serves to accentuate the difference between the work that he produces and that of his contemporaries.

To what extent is his dynamic style of animation integral to the stories that he chooses to tell? Are the manga versions—in cases where there are such—sufficient in and of themselves, or are his animations more whole works? Are they fundamentally different? What commonalities exist between disparate entries of his canon such as Mind Game (2002) or the Tatami Galaxy (2010), Devilman Crybaby (2018) or Ping Pong (2014), his contributions to Space Dandy (2014) or to Adventure Time (2014)? Yuasa seems to be concerned with growth, change, and self-overcoming, but is this interest expressed in his style as well as in the plots that he works with?