Nasu: Summer in Andalusia (dir. Kitaro Kousaka, 2003)

I enjoyed a bit of the slower pace that this film takes, although it does make the ending feel a bit underwhelming. Even so, I felt the emotions of Pepe through his win and what that represented for him. Watching him go through this grueling journey makes you really cheer for him at the end, especially seeing how his managers shit-talk him and everyone else doesn't take him as seriously. I think the most impactful scene of this film and the most memorable is the scene where Pepe's brother reminiscences over his relationship with him. Hearing him talk about Pepe always stealing his bicycle feels so endearing, and the fact that it's simply in a conversation within a car ride makes it feel very intimate and personal, which helped me feel like I was more connected to these characters. The flashback that proceeds afterwards really sold it for me, seeing Pepe's jealous face after his service in the military and the slow pan revealing his brother being with the woman he loves. After that scene, it suddenly gives so much more purpose to Pepe's character and his desire to win the race. If he can't have Carmen, racing is the only thing he has.

Kousaka's own style is also interesting to see, his style feels like a nice blend between Miyazaki's softer style with Urusawa's faces. Seeing him as the character designer on Monster confirms that, and I enjoyed seeing how his own style sticks out from Ghibli. The animation itself is also beautiful, but it definitely lacks the intensity and vigor Miyazaki has. Granted, I don't think it's good to compare it because it should be judged on it's own, but a lot of people tend to compare Nasu with Ghibli. I think Kousaka's animation style is a bit more subtle, focusing on the capturing more less drawings. This could be a budget issue, but that flashback scene with Pepe looking indignantly at his brother and Carmen really sticks out to me as one of the best scenes in this film and there are barely any drawings. In that sense I feel like Kousaka has a really good grip with selling a shot with few drawings, allowing the individual ones to speak for themselves. His quality as an actual animator is not to be undersold however, as the finale scenes give a really visceral sense of speed. So much so that I was following my head along with the bikes as they zipped by.