Short Peace

An anthology of four animated shorts. In an abandoned shrine a traveller meets the spirits of discarded objects; a fire in the Edo period frames a story of honour; a white bear defends a royal family from a red demon; soldiers in a ruined city fight a robotic tank. The common element is Japan: four periods, four different lines. The name behind the collection is Katsuhiro Otomo. He directed the Combustible segment, attempting to fuse traditional Japanese scroll painting with a modern anime line. Possessions, directed by Shuhei Morita, was nominated for the Best Animated Short Film Oscar in 2014. Hiroaki Ando directed Gambo and Hajime Katoki directed A Farewell to Weapons. The tonal distance between segments is wide; the collection is after variety rather than coherence. Who it's for: Viewers who like animated anthologies, Otomo's work, and formal experiment in Japanese animation. Who it's not for: The segments are short, so none of them deepens, and there is no story linking them. Anyone wanting a sustained narrative will not find one.