Koji Imada, Sayaka Maeda, Seiko Takuma, Takashi Fujii, Tomomitsu Yamaguchi

A man walks the line between life and death and finds it isn't at all what he imagined in this wildly imaginative anime feature. Nishi is a nebbishy cartoon artist who is still carrying a torch for Mi...( read more  read more... )yo, a beautiful girl who left him years before. One night, Nishi gets a call from Miyo, asking him to meet her at the restaurant her family owns. Nishi arrives and is met by Miyo, her father, her sister -- and her fiancé. Before Nishi can find out what the meeting is all about, a handful of gangsters who are owed money by Miyo's father burst into the diner, and Nishi is shot during the melee. However, as his soul leaves his body, he discovers the next world isn't quite what he expected, as a computer-bound Supreme Being discusses his failings with him and he is instructed, as is the custom, to walk toward the light. Having had enough of death during his brief visit, Nishi turns tail and flees, running from heaven's minions, determined to make the most of his life while he still can. Adapted by writer and director Masaaki Yuasa from a manga by Robin Nishi, Mind Game was given its North American premier at the 2005 New York Asian Film Festival.~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

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92% liked it

2,373 ratings

Unrated, 1 hr. 43 min.

Directed by: Masaaki Yuasa

Release Date: August 7, 2004

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Stats: 224 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (224)


  • March 20, 2007
    Sometimes an artistic film can come off as empty, pretentious and utterly unnecessary. See Angel's Egg. On rare occasions, however, that movie can be bursting with depth and wonder, a testament to the brilliance of whoever came up with it. See Mind Game.

    In just a few words, thi...( read more)s movie completes in an hour and a half what most 52-episode series could only dream of doing. We are treated to four characters who all undergo their own full-blown metamorphosis, in many more ways than one. We see a complete moral turnaround in Nishi, a dull and unambitious man who becomes liberated and self-actualized. We see an older man who seems to have given up on life, but after that same revelation finds a new vigor within himself, willing to start over. We see two women who each fulfill dreams long suppressed by a boring, day-to-day life and the wishes of their father. And we are shown these transformations through the most bizarre way possible.

    See, these four characters were all swallowed by a whale. Doesn't really seem like the ideal place for a human transformation, but the development that lies ahead is absolutely astonishing. From the point in which the three are eaten (they meet up with the old man later), everything about the movie completely changes. Animation style, narrative, sound...not only is the change displayed in the cast, but also holistically as well.

    But it's hard for me to say much more. Mind Game is a work that absolutely must be seen to be believed or even quantified. Download it and show it to everyone you know -- unless you can't get through the occasional rare slow spot, then you won't at all regret it.
  • September 18, 2009
    A very pleasant mind...fuck!
  • June 23, 2009
    acid trip without doubt. i dont know what i saw and teres an open edded ending but wow what an experience.. just like a david lynch film
  • June 7, 2009
    talk about a mind fuck! but truely inviting and interesting story. animation is something new and very unexpected!
  • March 16, 2009
    good stuff, want want want.
  • January 3, 2009
    No thankyou - Not interested
  • December 18, 2008
    LIFE is good, life is great, life is unbelievable, life is bizarre, life is cruel, life is SO BEAUTIFUL
  • June 10, 2008
    I wish I could watch every movie ever made but I sadly don't have the time. I'm not interested in this movie because I don't think I'll like it or don't know enough about it to think I might like it. I may still end up seeing it some day though.
  • April 19, 2008
    A young man who gets murdered by a yakuza rapist soccer player gets a second chance at life and is promptly swallowed by a whale. The animation in this thing is incredible. It's expressive and turns what could have been a mediocre story into a masterpiece. Also includes the best ...( read more)depiction of God I've ever seen.
  • March 5, 2008
    hahahahahahahahahahahahaha

Critic Reviews


September 1, 2005
A.O. Scott, The New York Times

A sometimes enthralling, sometimes exhausting tour de force. full review

View more Mind Game reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

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Mind Game Trivia


  • Using the missing letters create the name of an actor/actress that has starred in the movies. Holy Smo_e Tit_nic Lit_le Children Finding N_verland _ar Game The Hol_day A kid i_ King Arthurs Court Heavenly Creature_ Ham_et Prid_ E_ernal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind  Answer »
  • What film has this tagline... Your mind will not accept a game this big.  Answer »
  • In the film Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Sam Rockwell played this game show host, who in his autobiography also claimed to be a CIA spook.  Answer »
  • (Confessions of a Dangerous Mind) Which real TV game show did the protagonist host?   Answer »

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