Suu-funkan no Yell wo

A Few Moments of Cheers is a slightly cheesy but endearing “making of” MV movie. Despite the cheesiness, it's definitely worth watching, with a great message for anyone who has ever created something. I'm not particularly creative, but even I could feel the full spectrum of emotions in the MV that our protagonist created. The main song, "未明 (Mimei)," is excellent, and the ending song by Frederic fits in perfectly. (I've included links to the MV and ED song at the end of the review, but be aware that they contain spoilers.)

The 3D CG cel-shaded animation is on par with the music, if not ... better—especially the shots of the sky, which I found amazing.

In short, if you ever get a chance to watch A Few Moments of Cheers, give it a try. It's a concise and straightforward story about creators, motivation, aspirations, and life choices.

未明（MV):　 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKuuD3VwV2k
ED song:　 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j67Kkgi3_hg

A Few Moments of Cheers was a joyous experience that delivered a tightly written tale of youth wrapped in tons of flair.

With a story centred around a musician at a high school the story may initially come across as falling into familiar territory, however the team at studio Hurray led by director Popurika decided to lean into what they knew best - music videos - in order to set the story apart from the dozens of contemporaries. In doing so, the subject matter comes across as fresh and innovative allowing them to craft a message that feels genuine and real. Ultimately, the movie discusses ... themes of selfishness, connections, pressure and isolation amongst others through the relationship between teacher musician and video producer student, serving as an important reminder of the values and compromises we must prioritise to succeed.

Whilst the premise and story are on their own compelling, what really elevates A Few Moments of Cheers to the level of a masterpiece is the spectacular visual and audio presentation. The film employs a 3D CG cell shaded style which remains consistently gorgeous throughout the film thanks to the use of excellent lighting, bright, vibrant colours and beautifully hand painted backgrounds. There really isn't a bad looking shot in the entire movie. Moreover, the use of 3D allows the animators to play with really interesting unconventional techniques, such as smooth pans and transitions and crazily detailed and entertaining shots of Kanata animating his videos. The music further compounds the unique style of the film, with a constant string-led orchestral score conveying a great deal of the emotional impact, particularly in montage scenes and those with little dialogue. The original songs that Orie sings are also really powerful pop pieces that become almost guttural at points due to the sheer emotion in her voice. I was glad to see them finish the movie with the full final MV as well; it was a well appreciated touch that really brought things together.

At only just over an hour long there really is very little reason to avoid watching A Few Moments of Cheers. It expertly tells a compelling story with beautiful animation and music and manages to feel perfectly satisfactory by the end. I really hope that Popurika and the team at Hurray continue to make feature length anime in the future outside of music videos because if they can continue to produce them at this level then we might just have a new all time great studio on our hands.

Music videos become synonymous with the tracks themselves, and for viewers or fans, it becomes increasingly complex to differentiate between the two as time passes. It stems from the nature of human memory, remembering sounds when associated with images. Thus, music videos become an essential piece of the holistic aural experience. They also serve another purpose, and this is more fundamental at the level of interpretation. Upon creation, the video has now birthed a concrete visualization of what were otherwise lyrics that could be spun in tons of ways. If a director has not operated with fidelity to the artist, they are misconstruing meaning, and ... this control has the ability to permanently make or break a track. Suu-funkan no Yell wo follows this creative ambition through a boy named Kanata Asaya who encounters a teacher, Yu Orie, who has abandoned her musical dreams. Conceptually, there should be plenty to explore here about the dimensions of imagination and the diverse relationship between music and, in this case, animated music videos. In reality, the film severely undercuts its potential, and part of the reason is its confused vision.

Suu-funkan no Yell wo is director Popurika's first feature; in fact, it's his first project beyond trailers, music videos, and ending track animation for Kawaii dake ja Nai Shikimori-san. His style is clearly suited for the music videos that his production studio Hurray! is accustomed to, and there are many telltale signs he's new to films. One such obvious instance is the uncanny pauses between scenes or even edits, and there is an unusual lingering silence that can't be categorized as intentional given the absence of expressions or any change in body language. It almost appears as a delay, and there are a number of minor details that are more appropriate for music videos, which aren't focused on emphasizing every second of motion graphics. However, it's indeed impressive that most of the film's production was done in Blender. That's a massive undertaking, and the film being in 3DCG is not inherently a downside, but it does harbor qualities below the standard for any CG production.

Elements like shading greatly suffer in 3D models, and it is difficult to establish a perfectly consistent technique like in 2D. One such issue in Suu-funkan no Yell wo is lackluster lighting, where the two variations are either very bright or utter darkness with a lamppost to direct focus. There's also no real opportunity to show shot composition due to the nature of the camerawork, emphasizing pans and close-ups. On the occasion that there is a different angle, it's either corner-mounted or shaky—akin to a real music video. This redundant combination works when the priority is musicality in a four-minute song, not a feature-length film. Blender is strong in creating assets, but ultimately, outside of landscape shots, the backgrounds here are sterile or out of focus. It's apparent Blender's NLA editor was used for character animation, which is largely one-note movements. The inadequate textures don't provide interesting layouts or equip characters with flesh to make expressions, resulting in a film where everyone has the same face for an hour.

Narratively, Suu-funkan no Yell wo engages in middling melodrama. Set in Ishikawa prefecture, the setting is often near the water at the beach. Kanata is trying to elevate his artistic talents, and there is a minor theme of jealousy when faced with greater talent. However, the main plot pertains to discovering how to accurately depict Yu's song. Kei Sugawara's vocal performance, as well as the lyrics by VIVI, hold an emotional vim and vigor that redeem parts of the film's shortcomings. Storywise, it began with a relatively straightforward approach of enthusiasm, although soon, for the sake of conflict, there is ham-fisted noncommunication between Kanata and Yu that simply does not exist between real directors and artists. It forces the storytelling to plod forward momentarily in place of opting for a wholeheartedly optimistic screenplay from beginning to end. There are some unique visuals in the third act where we witness a live representation of animation layering using action strips, and I can't help but wonder about the idiosyncrasies of 3DCG that Popurika could have playfully presented if most of the film weren't a staring contest. Suu-funkan no Yell wo serves as a solid advertisement(https://youtu.be/OKuuD3VwV2k?si=YMCY4jxH2c2b6igS), and like many advertisements, there is nothing of substance.