Mind Game
マインド・ゲーム
“Yuasa's debut Mind Game: a surreal, style-shifting odyssey where a cowardly man seizes life after a violent reunion.”
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Synopsis
Yuasa's debut Mind Game: a surreal, style-shifting odyssey where a cowardly man seizes life after a violent reunion.
Nishi, a listless young man stuck in a rut, unexpectedly crosses paths with Myon, the spirited girl he adored back in high school. Their chance reunion on a subway platform reignites old feelings, but Nishi quickly discovers that Myon’s life has moved on without him. Drawn into her world, he finds himself at her family’s cozy Yakitori restaurant, where unresolved emotions and new tensions simmer. Before the evening can unfold, the place is stormed by dangerous men whose sudden intrusion shatters the calm. In the chaos that follows, Nishi is forced to confront his own cowardice and decide what he’s truly willing to fight for. From that moment, reality bends: time loops, styles shift, and the boundaries between life, memory, and imagination blur in a kaleidoscope of hand-drawn animation. Acclaimed director Masaaki Yuasa’s debut feature, Mind Game, uses ever-mutating visuals to deliver a wild, heartfelt meditation on seizing life’s possibilities and escaping the cages we build for ourselves.
After seeing her jump onto a subway at the last second and getting her ankle crushed between the doors, Nishi reconnects with his high school sweetheart, Myon. Nishi is still very much in love with Myon, but is shocked to learn that she is engaged to another man. Nishi agrees to meet Myon's fiancé at her family's Yakitori restaurant, but members of the Yakuza storm the joint and murder Nishi when he tries to stop them from raping Myon. Nishi, now dead, wakes up and meets a constantly shapeshifting god, who mocks him for dying. The god tells Nishi to walk into a portal and disappear from existence, which Nishi rejects, choosing instead to sprint past the god and reanimate. With a new outlook on life and knowledge of how the Yakuza are going to attack him, Nishi kills one of the Yakuza with his own gun, fleeing in a stolen car with Myon and her sister. Acclaimed director Masaaki Yuasa's debut film, Mind Game's constantly shifting visuals tell a story about living one's life without regrets that is unlike any other.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
What people say
Community consensus
Derived from 41 sampled reviews
8.4/10
Score distribution
Agreement
SplitPolarized
σ 1.81 · split reception
The polarity gap
6.0 ptsRecommenders 9.0 · others 3.0
Score over time
1.61Verbosity
Snap verdicts · shortest highly-rated reviews
- 8/10 “This film is a visually captivating, trippy experience that maintains high excitement even during slower segments, effectively turning a simple second-chance plot into an engaging, manly adventure....”
- 10/10 “Mind Game is a masterpiece that captures the essence of why I love anime, delivering a deeply nostalgic experience through its brilliant, humorous animation style and unique integration of...”
- 8/10 “Mind Game is an incredibly entertaining psychological anime, featuring vibrant, multi-styled animation and meticulous background details that make it a visual pleasure. The fast-paced narrative is...”
Watch order & related
A self-contained story.
No sequels, spin-offs or alternate tellings — Mind Game begins and ends here.
Cast
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Reel · 01 Cat. №BS-0791
- Format
- 1 × 103′
- eps × min
- Total runtime
- 1h 43m
- all episodes
- Aired
- Aug 2004 – Aug 2004
- Summer 2004
- Source
- Movie
- media type
- Rated
- R
- 17+ (violence & profanity)
- Ref.
- BS-0791
- catalog