Giuseppe is a little obsessed. And maybe I am too.
The Obsessed is an oddity within Japanese animation: while it is an adaptation of a popular novel of the same name with universal appeal to adults and children alike, already adapted for the stage multiple times before, this is an animated musical like we rarely see from the country (last year’s The Rose of Versailles excluded). It’s a work from Shin-Ei Animation, the team behind the long-running behemoths of Doraemon and Crayon Shin-chan giving themselves a rare chance to stretch their creative muscles in a new world. It doesn’t even look like many other anime, with its jagged lines and stereotypically European setting (specifically a vague amalgamation of the continent blending French architecture, British police boxes and Polish countryside).
And it’s better for that as it crafts an unapologetic celebration of human expressions of love while noting the mutual need for balance in making a relationship work, all through the medium of song.
Everyone in town has an opinion on the oddball Giuseppe (Ae! group’s Masaya Sano). The time he started triple-jumping after becoming obsessed with grasshoppers, or how he found a mouse companion named Cielo (Hayato Kakizawa) and learned their language. Or how he loved singing to the point he was scaring customers away from the restaurant by refusing to stop even while working. His boss asks him to take a break to get over this particular issue one time when he finds his latest desire, a beautiful balloon seller named Pechka (Moka Kamishiraishi) with whom he falls instantly in love. He wants to learn more about who she is, and with a bit of help from his mouse friend, gets to know her and does everything he can to ease her concerns in the hope of seeing her unimpeded smile.
The Obsessed is unapologetic in how it wishes to bring this love to life via musical song. Giuseppe soars through the air the moment he sees her and is unable to keep his voice inside, bursting into musical joy as though unleashed. He feels affection for her, but it’s not with an expectation of something more that he does this stuff for her. It is, to him, an obsession, so when he can’t see the true smile of a person he cares for he does whatever is necessary. Her mother is ill? Let’s help cure her. She can’t sell balloons in the park due to debt from a swing dance-loving mafioso? You bet he’ll find them and put things right.
It’s silly, but isn’t this more romantic than a mere date or confession? Especially when it’s so selflessly done just to see her smile. Yet, what makes their connection so compelling is that these acts appear selfish, but becoming obsessed in such a manner, is that no different than a selfish want you’ll sacrifice everything for even if the person you do this for would rather just spend time with you and work it out together?
Which brings in the film’s fascinating second layer. What is the line between love and obsession? What is healthy? And what if there’s a problem that can’t be solved through obsession, no matter how much you ravage your body through it? What if that problem requires a recognition of how far you’ve gone and what’s truly necessary, before taking that leap and embracing what’s right to do.
This is what makes this connection feel so pure, the thing which turns this somewhat-corny concept into something so genuinely-engrossing. Where some may laugh off the silliness of some of his obsessions, like his glasses collection or the time he became a detective, they bring him new perspectives that allow him to see the world in new and unique ways. Even the characters who view Giuseppe as a little peculiar hold no ill-will to the way he full-blooded embodies his life in the image of the things he loves. It’s almost envy, but certainly never looked down upon, because it’s great to see someone care about something as much as he does.
Like any good musical, when words are not enough, song brings out the true obsession. Though it can feel like the film is lacking just one or two more musical interludes, each song is rooted in the feeling when a passion can not merely be spoken, only joyously expressed in a full-body expression of music. These not only helpfully tie to Giuseppe’s last obsession (though it’s not only him who sings), but come out when each character can no longer contain the thing they care so deeply for, creating a wonderful thematic idea that ties the reasoning behind the choice to make this a musical and why each song appears in such a creative and fulfilling manner.
Indeed, these intentional music numbers will convince even a non-musical lover to the craft. These songs are all produced by atagi from Awesome City Club, giving these songs a poppy but musically-astute feel in line with the group’s sound but not derivative or unsuitable for this story. None of the songs are duds, even if there are certainly variances in quality between each, thematic embodiments of the moment that kept me tapping my foot and justifying the film’s steps into surrealism beyond what its angular animation style and tone already achieved. These numbers can disavow the logic of the world, but never in a way that feels like an attempt to break the rules established in this world to write themselves away from a more dicey situation, even in its somewhat darker conclusion when a more tragic undercurrent is revealed.
The tone shift brings the ideas of the film full-circle, turning a merely-good time into something affirming and rather moving. Sometimes, a solo pursuit is never enough, and losing that tunnel vision to bring the others along for the ride can be what’s needed more than a skill to find a way forward. Obsession, but also compassion.
Honestly it’s hard not to fall in love with this film, a modern fairytale whose simplistic art style hides something much deeper but filled with passion from staff and characters alike. An argument I like to make is one where if a movie can leave you feeling joy without reservation, it’s easier to ignore its flaws because ultimately, entertainment is made to be fun. When every song leaves you with a smile and a laugh, and a mouse’s care for a friend can make you genuinely emotional, would that not be a success? The Obsessed feels like a passion project brought to life in vivid watercolor and sonic expressionism, taking the book and transforming it into something impossible in its original form and only possible within the imaginative technicolor world of animation.
What more could be wanted than that?
So yes, you could say I’m a bit obsessed. I’m an obsessed girl, and my latest passion is this film.
