Anime Review: My neighbors the Yamadas

Review My neighbors the Yamadas Written by Warpshadow Rating very good

The ability to create a movie with stunning graphics is certainly a great talent. It is also a great talent to create a good movie with simple animation. My neighbors the Yamadas is a good example of the later.

Yamada's are a fairly typical Japanese family. They consist of a father who works at some office position, a housewife, two children and a grandmother that lives with the family. No giant robots, no magic powers, They are just a normal family that deals with normal day to day life.

The easiest way for me to explain what My neighbors the Yamadas is like, would be for me to liken it to a comic strip you see in the newspaper. The animation style very simplistic but that feels intentional rather than a product of poor animation. There is no overarching plot as the movie consists of skits that are generally unrelated other than the fact that they all contain the same characters. It is the characters that really make the show as they form an instant attachment with the viewer. They allow the movie sentimental scenes without being forced or annoyingly sappy. This is a film for people of all ages, and unlike many movies that tout that phrase there is something for those jaded teenage types that usually hate family movies.