The Man Next Door (隣の野郎)(1965)
Directed by:
Animated by:
Studio:Kuri’s Laboratory of Experimental Manga （Kuri Jikken Manga Kobo）
Release date:?/?/1965
Running time:9 min
Color process:Technicolor
Synopsis
The Man Next Door is an animated short of minimalist pencil drawing that depicts a red-hat man’s daily struggle with noises made from all sorts of activities that his neighbour, the blue hat, did, including typing, vacuuming, swimming, mechanic crafting, and musical concerts. Eventually, the protagonist was no longer able to tolerate the noisy déjà vu and drove his entire house to a new place. Just as he was about to enjoy the long-desired tranquility, he was woken up by even worse noises as his home is now surrounded by multiple households. The animated short, with its dark humour, serves as allegorical reflection of the downside of urbanization–chaos and overcrowding–in cities of Japan (Robinson).
References:
Robinson, Chris. “Yōji Kuri, Pioneering Japanese Indie Animator, Dies at 96.” Cartoon Brew, 18 Dec. 2024, www.cartoonbrew.com/rip/yoji-kuri-pioneering-japanese-indie-animator-dies-at-96-244524.html.