Too often, I find myself taking a chance and buying a home-video release of a animated film blind. One such case was when I bought 1984's "Urusei Yatsura - Beautiful Dreamer" when it was released on Bluray by Discotek media in 2018. I had never heard of the film or the apparent franchise: only after buying a copy and seeing a large number "2" on the disc did I find out that there was a television anime of over 100 episodes, 6 movies, and multiple OVA's. The series apparently did have some release in the past for English audiences, but has since been largely forgotten. Why did I buy the film? Because Discotek's release proudly stated this movie was directed by Mamoru Oshii. Really? The avant-garde director best known for his work on the "Ghost in the Shell" films, and his misunderstood adaption of "The Sky Crawlers?" He directed a slapstick comedy series in the 1980's? Yes he did, and yes, this is a slapstick comedy anime from the 1980's. It features a bunch of rambunctious high school boys, an alien girl student with a crush on one of the boys who can fly and has other abilities, and a school nurse who doubles as a Japanese shaman to vanquish demons in a traditional white robe and ribbon-staff. This doesn't seem anything like anything Oshii would dare touch, but it was early in his career. If you have a love for anime made before characters were designed to be attractive to look at, and if you hunger for logic-defying comedy, then perhaps you might enjoy "Beautiful Dreamer." Otherwise, I would suggest to ignore the film entirely... unless you are a fan of Mamoru Oshii. Out of necessity, he both directed and wrote the film, and if you watch closely you can see several moments of his surreal sensibilities and unique direction take place. It is absolutely a part of his catelogue.So "Beautiful Dreamer" is a film that came from a long running anime. It makes some sense that it doesn't even try to introduce the characters to you. You might question why the students all seem so rowdy, seemingly destroying their school in full costume as they prepare for the school's festival, including a Nazi-decorated cafe with a full-sized tank in the center (I'm not making that up). You might wonder why one of the characters can fly when the others can't, why no one seems to pay any mind to it, and why said character dresses in cheetah lingerie in her house in front of her friends, family, pet pig and imp. You might wonder how, halfway through the movie, the characters are able to find a single-seated fighter jet, and are able to hang half of the gang from the outside wings while they fly it to outer space to get a better view of their town. Be clear, this is a comedy, and 1984 was a very different time for anime in general. But no matter how understanding I tried to be, these moments were still distracting to me.Anyway, the story is that the characters slowly realize that the day before the school festival has been repeating continously for a long time, and begin to wonder what has caused the stopped flow of time. This ultimately leads to the discovery that the world is a dream, and they need to find out whose dream it is and wake up from it. This is where director Oshii's style kicks in. Sure, the slapstick is fine, but the film reahes a new level during scenes that covney the surreal moments that take advantage of the situation. The music change, the camera layout, the direction in general... even the later monologues discussing the futility of reality and dreams and other philosophy. It makes the film seem smarter and more worthy to watch than it might have been otherwise. There is some contradiction to whether the movie was well received by fans in Japan upon initial release, but today, it is commonly referred to the best of the franchise, thanks almost entirely to the director.
I'll also praise Discotek's effort on their release. They somehow were able to include an old English dub (in glorious 1.0 mono!) as well as three Japanese tracks (a new 5.1, a remastered 1.0, and original 1.0). There's a full-length audio commentary with Oshii himself, recorded 20 years after the film's release, organized by Central Park Media for their DVD. The picture quality looks good, although not a huge improvement from what I would expect the DVD to be like. By the way, the visuals are horribly dated, and anyone not used to the style would think the character designs look horrendous, but a few scenes do strive to be better than average. Overall, it's impressive how much work was done by Discotek for a film that will likely be forgotten again by American audiences. And compared to Oshii's later films, and compared to other anime (both recent or from the same decade) available, it is easy to dismiss "Urusei Yatsura - Beautiful Dreamer." But I do think it is deserving for historians and older fans to keep in their collection.