is a trilogy of thematically related

adult An adult is a human or other animal that has reached full growth. In human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. In contrast to a " minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of maj ...

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

s originally conceived and initiated by

Osamu Tezuka Osamu Tezuka (, born , ''Tezuka Osamu''; – 9 February 1989) was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist, and animator. Born in Osaka Prefecture, his prolific output, pioneering techniques, and innovative redefinitions of genres earned him such ...

and made at his

Mushi Production or Mushi Pro for short, is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Fujimidai, Nerima, Tokyo, Japan. It previously had a headquarters elsewhere in Nerima. The studio was headed by manga artist Osamu Tezuka. Tezuka started it as a rivalry wi ...

animation studio from the late 1960s to early 1970s. As well as the erotic themes, they are also defined by mixing more typical

traditional animation Traditional animation (or classical animation, cel animation, or hand-drawn animation) is an animation technique in which each frame is drawn by hand. The technique was the dominant form of animation in cinema until computer animation. Proc ...

with sequences of UPA and Yōji Kuri–influenced experimental use of modern design, limited animation, and still paintings akin to Tezuka's experimental

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

s and like those largely were all directed, sometimes sharing the billing with Tezuka, by

Eiichi Yamamoto was a Japanese film director and screenwriter of anime. He is known for directing the Animerama film series conceived by Osamu Tezuka. Yamamoto directed ten films between 1962 and 1986. His 1973 film '' Kanashimi no Belladonna'' was entered in ...

. The first, '' A Thousand & One Nights'', at 130 minutes, remains one of the longest ever animated films. The first two are also notable for having

score Score or scorer may refer to: *Test score, the result of an exam or test Business * Score Digital, now part of Bauer Radio * Score Entertainment, a former American trading card design and manufacturing company * Score Media, a former Canadian ...

s by famed composer and electronic rearranger Isao Tomita. The third, ''Belladonna'', made without Tezuka's direct involvement, is more serious than its predecessors and more avant-garde still, telling its story largely through pans over still,

panoramic painting Panoramic paintings are massive artworks that reveal a wide, all-encompassing view of a particular subject, often a landscape, military battle, or historical event. They became especially popular in the 19th century in Europe and the United Sta ...

s with narration. The three films in the trilogy are: * (1969) * (1970) * (1973) All three were released onto

DVD-Video DVD-Video is a consumer video format used to store digital video on DVD discs. DVD-Video was the dominant consumer home video format in Asia, North America, Europe, and Australia in the 2000s until it was supplanted by the high-definition Blu- ...

by the video division of

Columbia Music Entertainment , often pronounced ''Korombia'', operating internationally as , is a Japanese record label founded in 1910 as Nipponophone Co., Ltd. It affiliated itself with the Columbia Graphophone Company of the United Kingdom and adopted the standard U ...

, both separately and as a box set, in 2004 in Japan and re-released in 2006. A 1991

original video animation , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA ...

based on part of

Ihara Saikaku was a Japanese poet and creator of the " floating world" genre of Japanese prose (''ukiyo-zōshi''). Born as Hirayama Tōgo (平山藤五), the son of a wealthy merchant in Osaka, he first studied haikai poetry under Matsunaga Teitoku and lat ...

's ''The Life of an Amorous Man'' (released on VHS in the United Kingdom and Ireland as ''

The Sensualist is a Japanese adult animated historical drama film based on part of the 17th century novel of the same name by Ihara Saikaku was a Japanese poet and creator of the " floating world" genre of Japanese prose (''ukiyo-zōshi''). Born as H ...

'') made at Grouper Production is sometimes considered an unofficial successor to the trilogy, owing to the involvement of Yamamoto as

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

and its similar experimental imagery.

Notes

External links

Official website

Anime film series Fantasy film series Film series introduced in 1969 Japanese film series Osamu Tezuka anime Trilogies {{anime-film-stub

See also

Notes

External links