Dead Leaves is subtle like a brick through a plate glass window. It is fifty minutes of ultra-violence, prison sex and bodily functions. The humour is pitched at the level of a fifth grade repeater. And it’s the most refreshingly original anime I’ve seen for a long time.
Pandy with her circled eye and lightning bolt cow lick and the monitor-headed Retro are an anime Bonny & Clyde. The pair are oddly endearing with their, ‘magazine clip is half full’ worldview. They are blithely unconcerned about their memory loss, happy to fill any awkward silences with the sounds of small arms fire. Pandy and Retro have completely dispensed with the question part of ‘shoot first and ask questions later’, applying the principle that, ‘guns don’t kill people, they do’.
Dead Leaves, more than anything, resembles an animated comic book. The screen is constantly stretching, shrinking or dividing into panels. The coloring is bold, solid blocks of colors. Backgrounds and characters have a graphiti art stylisation and text sound effects litter the screen.
Warner Bros cartoons long ago redefined the laws of physics and physical comedy. Dead Leaves sets out to stomp all over them. Bodies are constantly contorting, secreting and excreting to the extent I feel somewhat ocularly violated. Action is composed of exaggerated foreshortening and framing usually consists of extreme depth of field where the foreground elements press against the inside of your TV screen threatening to tip it over. Although the mayhem and carnage is frantic and there are plenty of camera cuts, the viewer never loses their reference and is dragged through the action like a backseat passenger with joy riding teenagers.
With its fifty minute running time, Dead Leaves’ non-stop action is like a short, sharp shock from a defibrillator. So lie back and wait for the electrifying jolt as Studio I.G. apply another coating of conducting gel to the paddles that is Dead Leaves.