Kodomo no Keijijougaku
A Child's Metaphysics
こどもの形而上学
A child whose head is numerals, a child who winds his own face and has it under his arm. What was left is his identity, a child whose eyes are provided by fishes, a child who lies down on the floor and head-butts his identity, a child who cannot say anything because of a zipper across his mouth. He undo the zipper but under it is another zipper... Ecology and philosophy of children with sadness and humour. (Source: Yamamura Animation)
Synopsis
A child whose head is numerals, a child who winds his own face and has it under his arm. What was left is his identity, a child whose eyes are provided by fishes, a child who lies down on the floor and head-butts his identity, a child who cannot say anything because of a zipper across his mouth. He undo the zipper but under it is another zipper... Ecology and philosophy of children with sadness and humour. (Source: Yamamura Animation)
Recommendations
Reviews(2)
El_Taco
January 27, 2012
For a work so short and concise, rarely do we find a gem of truly intellectual prosperity as we encounter in A Child's Metaphysics. In its short time frame it shows us right what it says on the tin, the metaphysical thoughts of a typical child. Metaphysics is hard to define, but its meaning rests in the existentialism of being, and its effects on many other perceptions of the human mind which can be but is not limited to our understanding of ourselves, the universe, religious thoughts, and our actual role in living our everyday lives. All of this is what this piece of artshows us in a concise dementia like art form similar to works as the Chocolate Panic Show. However, one aspect that this differs with the Chocolate Panic Show is an actual, meaningful interpretation. And the beautiful part of it is that it requires the viewers own understanding and interpretation, which requires in turn the understanding of metaphysics and how we define and associate the meaning of existence to ourselves. The end result is a beautifully crafted peer into the life and thoughts of a child and how they interpret the feelings and experiences they encounter through the daily lives. It was recently discovered that babies are born into this world with a mind able to calculate the basics of how physics work in our world. With that, its no surprise that the emotions the children discover in the work are things that most of us would associate with more mature problems, such as the feeling of losing one's voice, losing the ability to communicate freely, and even having to cope with emotional stresses (note the scene with the child collecting his/her own tears in a cup). This exceptional form of story-telling is also littered with a very pleasing soundtrack, reminiscent of classical period music fusion with modern musical period approach with erratic marimba/keyboard runs. Voiced talent is entirely what sounds like infant's voices recorded for playback, most of them playing where appropriate for the soundtrack and the art, helping the viewer discern the situations the children are addressing or thinking about. I myself truly enjoyed this 5 minute short, and is probably the best Japanese animated short I have seen that is this modern. The ideas it presents are sophisticated enough for an intellectual adult to enjoy thinking about the ideas presented, while being comical enough for children to laugh at the kids' attempts to do various things that defy the laws of physics. The seemingly childish appearance of this anime short is merely a disguise to hide the true intellectual merit and metaphysical meaning that the short attempts to impresses on its mature viewers.
