collins.nathanael - 2013-12-29 11:41:52

Twilight Q is an interesting albeit largely forgotten OVA produced back in 1987. Originally, it was supposed to be a showcase for young talents in the industry; alas, only 2 episodes were made before the project was abandoned due to low sales, and the anime ultimately sunk into oblivion. Well, I guess it's high time to do the show some justice and bring it back to the surface.

STORY
As the title clearly suggests, the OVA is a sort of Twilight Zone anthology which means the episodes don't bear any connection plotwise yet they have similar mysterious atmosphere and employ the same mix of genres that may be roughly described as mystery + sci-fi + mindf*ck. A very good mix, if you ask me.
The first episode called Reflection is based on a story by Kazunori Ito (the scriptwriter for Ghost in the Shell & Patlabor movies), directed by Tomomi Mochizuki (known for his work on studio Ghibli's Ocean Waves and studio Manglobe's House of the Five Leaves). One day, a girl named Mayumi dives into the ocean and finds a camera stuck on a coral riff; later, she discovers a film inside the camera and, much to her surprise, the film contains a picture where she poses with some guy she doesn't even know. Obviously, she decides to find out the truth about the picture's origins, and so the sequence of enigmatic events begins.
Without spoiling anything, the episode is simultaneously easy and interesting to follow, providing enough twists to keep you intrigued and a logical ending that encircles the whole story. That being said, the story does have a significant problem as it ends up rather hollow, lacking any message for the audience; and even though the episode is tagged as "romance", it appears to be almost non-existent in the show. Besides, the story incorporates a certain ecological disaster as well as a certain historical event that, while interesting on their own, remain undeveloped and contribute very little to the main plotline. Eventually, the story turns out intriguing yet pretty empty at the core.
The second episode called File 538 is cut from an entirely different cloth. Directed by Mamoru Oshii and based on his own story, it tells about a private detective spying on a father - daughter pair living nextdoor. One hot summer night he enters their apartment and finds a sleeping girl, a fish and a letter that seems to be a message from his predecessor working on the same case. As he sits there reading the message, the mystery unravels before his eyes.
This episode turns out very multifaceted and surreal as the story seamlessly blends real and dreamy events to show how we are often unable to distinguish illusion from reality and end up getting trapped into dreams; also, it provides an ironic commentary on human existence, full of dark humor and Kafka-esque transformations; and some Christian symbolism may be found here as well, although only a bit of it. Unarguably, the story is deep, unusual and thought-provoking, with plenty of ideas to infer and a couple of truly amazing revelations I deliberately don't spell out to avoid spoilers.
That all being said, the anime also has a very dry & demanding presentation, as the whole story is narrated very slowly by the protagonist while he sits in the room, doing nothing else at all. Thus, the show ends up way too static even by Oshii's standards, not to mention a radical violation of the "show, don't tell" rule. Thankfully, the story makes perfect sense, with the protagonist factually explaining everything twice (!) in the ending; the problem is many viewers may have trouble following 20 minutes of ultra-slow & rather complex narration that precedes it.
To sum everything up, the two stories of Twilight Q turn out to be diametrically opposed in their strengths & weaknesses, as the first is well-presented yet has little substance in it, while the second has plenty of substance and the presentation arguably too challenging for its own good. The only thing they have in common, besides the overall mysterious tone, is that both are far from perfect yet unusual & interesting, each in its own way.

ANIMATION
The animation in the 1st episode was made by the same team who worked on Kimagure Orange Road - another series directed by Mochizuki. The result is very good actually: it's very colorful and detailed, with both artwork & motion done right. The only problem, aside from some minor age issues, is the style itself: it's just realistic 80's animation with almost no unique features, which makes it pleasant to watch yet rather unmemorable in the long run.
The animation in the 2nd episode is even better although it appears much more limited at first, showing only the room where the protagonist dwells or some stills & abstract imagery going along with his speech, like airplanes in the sky; view of the city streets with clouds flying above; and other stuff like that. It all may look boring on paper yet the outstanding art direction makes the animation surprisingly impressive, which is no wonder when the art director is Hiromasa Ogura - the same man who worked on Ninja Scroll, Ghost in the Shell, Jin-Roh and FLCL among other world-famous anime. Therefore, the artistic composition is top-notch; the animation is very smooth & detailed; the colors are rich, dark and pleasant to the eye; and the overall quality is amazing considering the show's age. The one and only aspect I strongly dislike are the character designs: while it may be a matter of subjective taste more than anything, I think they are way too grotesque, giving the protagonists an ugly & even cringeworthy appearance. Perhaps, Oshii wanted them to look original in some way, but that remains beyond my understanding.
Overall, the animation in both episodes reflects their nature and differs the same way as the stories: the first is nice to look at yet forgettable; the second is very original & well-done yet a couple of questionable artistic decisions make it hardly tolerable for some people. Nevertheless, both display some genuine quality only hand-drawn anime can offer.

SOUND
The soundtrack for both episodes by maestro Kenji Kawai consists mostly of keyboard music that isn't especially memorable, and you probably won't even notice it if you don't pay specific attention. However if you do, you'll realize that the tracks are nicely composed and they do a great job at creating the enigmatic atmosphere of the OVA. I only wish the melodies were more diverse and employed more instruments, but even this way they're still good & fitting for the show.
The voice-acting in the 1st episode is fine, with nothing particularly standing out. The protagonist's voice in the 2nd episode is really weird, and exactly like with the character designs I have no clue why Oshii wanted him to talk that way: maybe, to make him sound mysterious? I don't know. Well, at least I wasn't annoyed with his voice although it did sound very strange to me.

CHARACTERS
The characters in both episodes have no remarkable personalities and no distinctive features whatsoever: in fact, they're just gears used to keep the plot going. However, I don't think they're necessarily bad considering very story-driven nature of the mystery genre the series belongs to. Taking that into account, I believe they are more or less ok for this kind of show... and that's pretty much it. I wish I could tell you more about them, but there really isn't much else to say aside from a couple of spoilers.

OVERALL
While far from flawless, Twilight Q is certainly an interesting & innovative anime that may be recommended if you're into mystery, sci-fi & mindf*ck genres or if you particularly like any of the creators involved in the project. I hope this review helps you set the right expectations before going into the show, and perhaps, you'll enjoy it more than I did.