The rest of this first episode is done in that stolid, Serious Gritty Anime style also seen on e.g. Nippon Sangoku meaning the climx hits you as hard as it hit the protagonist:
What I expected from World is Dancing was something like Wandance, but instead I got a historical anime set during Japan’s Nanboku-cho period, when the country was in a civil war between the Northern and Southern Courts on who was backing the true emperor. Even in such grim times people still need entertainment and the Kanza troupe delivers. Kanami is the head of this group of sarugaku theatre performers. Oniyasha is his son, a bit of an airhead and dreamer and far from convinced dancing has the importance that his father ascribes to it.
Oniyasha has those thick, triangular eyebrows you usually see on cheerful, good hearted but slightly dim supporting characters. It fits him considering when we first meet him he’s so caught up in his own head he not only misses his cue to perform, he doesn’t even notice the horse about to trample him. Unlike his father, he seemingly has little talent for dance or theatre and often sneeks out of his lessons to go to a nearby river to play with his friend as they both complain about their respective families.
All very peaceful but the reminders of the recent wars are still everywhere. Most of this first episode is establishing first his world and how brutal it is, then Oniyasha himself, before his absent-mindedness makes him lost and a kindly farmer sends him in the direction of the faithful encounter he has in that clip above. There’s more to Oniyasha’s reluctance to take dancing seriously than how he’s treated by his father, who only has eyes for his art, or his own lack of talent in other words. At a time when even village festivals are cancelled because harvests are bad, why do people still dance? Nobody needs to dance, so why do people still do it every time they get the chance? This is an anime about art and I’m always a sucker for these. Making it a historical drama at the same time is the cherry on top.
This is a very good looking anime. As the clip above shows it’s not afraid to get all expressionistic when it needs to and even in its more staid moments, Oniyasha gets to make silly, comedic faces as he reacts to things. What I liked during that entire, climactic dance scene is how Oniyasha at times gets sucked in to the point of deforming into almost nothingness himself, then when he pulls back he’s depicted in that more realistic style again. The studio behind this, Cypic, is so new this is their first series and the director himself, Toshimasa Kuroyanagi doesn’t have many directorial roles to his credit, despite being in the industry for over twenty years. He did however direct one of my favourite anime of 2016, Fune wo Amu, which gives me some confidence in this production. If it can keep up the high production values it had this episode and the story remains interesting this will be a great series.
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