Maybe it’s harder than it looks to present the end of the world calmly, especially in only 93 minutes. That’s one of the major achievements of the new, relatively lo-fi anime film Jinsei. Over a hundred years—all through the prism of pop music and Japanese identity—one quickly learns how much millennial- and zoomer-doom mindset is just as present in the land of the rising sun.
An instant thing to set this film apart is that it’s not so much a studio production, but the result of a single auteur. Jinsei can boast in its promotional materials that it was all hand-drawn by anime wunderkind Ryuya Suzuki. What he’s concocted is somewhat austere at times, as if not a frenetic amount of visual information was allowed by the crowdfunded budget. Yet one would never call it imprecise, if just for the fact that the action is always happening at the center of a square frame—admittedly bringing a bit of a twee, Wes Anderson-like touch to proceedings.
In the story itself, à la Tenet, the protagonist is simply named Protagonist (voiced by rapper ACE COOL). From an early age, he seems both set on and destined to become a pop star; Jinsei pivots on the motif of the protagonist enraptured by a dancing, Michael Jackson-esque pop icon on a cracked television screen. Chasing after a vague notion of what he wants to do, the foolproof fame game of pop will eventually lead to prestigious film roles and whatnot—an artistic satisfaction as the final reward. But there’s always something a little hollow at the center, both for his dreams and the character itself. Jinsei is very cool to the touch, very much at a distance; this isn’t a triumphant, then tragic rise-and-fall narrative.
His tragedy is never quite being happy enough and he’s never totally in control of his destiny, as made apparent by being put into a soulless boy band by the powers that be. The septic world of pop music, mostly dictated by old men in sleek but disquieting corporate boardrooms, doesn’t help matters and spells out what’ll be the rest of his life. As the narrative ventures into the far future and the protagonist attains what he wants both in music and film, his ascension to elite circles only makes him dispirited. He’s merely a figure witnessing champagne toasts as a futuristic war with Master Chief-like soldiers rages outside.
The downfall of society is occurring in the ellipsis, but it’s not hard for us to fill in the gaps. It’s certainly an easy kind of cynicism that doesn’t ask for much from the audience, but luckily, Suzuki doesn’t rest on this. Becoming increasingly cosmic towards its end, the visual imagination is amped up while more questions are raised. Perhaps this articulates why Jinsei is highly intriguing, if not entirely dramatically satisfying. Suzuki’s film does more to suggest a promise of great things to come. But the vision is still there to impress, even when one feels certain pieces are missing.
Jinsei enters a limited release on Friday, June 5.