Dead Leaves is an ADHD-fuelled, violence-centred, hyper-kinetic, technicolour explosion on the screen. And I thought I was so here for it, but even my lack of boundaries were seemingly pushed by where this was trying to go. No depths aren’t plunged and nothing is seemingly considered taboo here as we follow Retro (the TV headed guy) and Pandy (the heterochromic femme fatale).
There is some major gross-out stuff in here, plenty of bodily fluid themed jokes and a shit-ton of death and violence. And more bodily fluid jokes. And death. All switched up to FFWD and the volume turned way up. Despite the 52 minute runtime, there is a surprising amount packed in here, even after the incoherent madness that is the first act. When it does finally decide to give the plot some airtime, there is something solid there and it peppers the action from there on out, albeit sneaking around rather than coming to the fore.
Hiroyuki Imaishi (Gurren Lagann, Kill la Kill, Promare) took the reins for this adaptation of Imai Toonz manga comic and ran with it. And didn’t stop running until he’d exhausted himself it seems. Balls-to-the-walls for the entire time. No breathing space, no pauses. Just all out assault.
I am surprised I made it through without some kind of seizure and there was some kind of plot in there to follow amongst the impeccably animated, bullet-strewn images but it just wasn’t quite the thing for me.
Film N Stuff 