Akuma no Kairozu

**DO NOT WATCH IF YOU HAVE EPILEPSY / SENSITIVITY TO BRIGHT FLASHING LIGHTS** TL;DR: Experimental short showing camera focus on a remote building circling around it in a distance. Another take on Itou's main theme, space and movement. Not completely sure I would call it an animation, because while having some artificial contouring in it, 95% is regular real world footage. Story: The center of the short is a skyscraper building in some densely populated Japanese city. The short is divided into several parts, each dedicated to some experimental visual about it. In the beginning and the end of the movie, normal images of the building areshow, such as a view from the top. One segment outlines live footage of buildings for a technical drawing effect. This then is mixed with differently altered footage of the same camera shot (colors, outlines, luminosity, brightness) for a stroboscope effect. The main segment is a circle walk/drive around the skyscraper in a few 100 meters distance of it. Camera shots are cut together so that the skyscraper remains still and smoothly rotates. This causes the foreground buildings to hectically jump, creating a hectic mood. While I am sure the production was technically challenging, the overall idea is not really genius. 3/10 Animation: Much of the short relies on cutting and camera position, not on animation. The score would be much higher if the cutting was relevant, which I think it is not for an animation database review. The outline effect may count as animation, but this is nothing photoshop can's do automatically. It may have been harder in 1988, but even then rotoscope was available and could do the trick. 1/10 Sound: Repetitive mid-tempo ambient electronic music. It changes a little over time, but not much. Not supporting the images too well. It adds unrest and unsettling. So some work in the sound department, but nothing even close to a master musician. 2/10 Character: The main "characters" are the building, the movement, and the unrest. 3/10 Enjoyment: Not really. I appreciate the high effort, but it fails to entertain me or to provoke thought. If I want a stroboscopic effect, I rather watch something else. Not Itou's best work. 1/10 Overall: (3+1+2+3+1)/5=1.8, rounded up to 2/10. I resist the urge to subtract one because this pretty much camp level, and my 1 is reserved for even worse.