is a 1933

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 ...

short film by

Kenzō Masaoka was an early anime creator. Masaoka was the first to use cel animation and recorded sound in anime.Kōdansha (1993). ''Japan: an illustrated encyclopedia.'' Kōdansha, He worked at a number of companies as an animator and actor, and was one of ...

and the first Japanese anime of any type to feature voiceovers. The film was released in

black and white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

. There are no known prints of this film available, and it is considered a

lost film A lost film is a feature or short film that no longer exists in any studio archive, private collection, public archive or the U.S. Library of Congress. Conditions During most of the 20th century, U.S. copyright law required at least one copy o ...

. ''Chikara'' was listed as one of the "Best of Best" by the 12th Japan Media Arts Festival.

Plot

The protagonist is a father of four children. His wife is tall, and weighs due to her incredibly large physique. Because he is constantly being

henpecked ''Henpecked'' is a 1930 animated short produced by Walter Lantz that features Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Plot Oswald is playing piano in his apartment room, singing a swing song. Just then, a disturbed bear from another room comes in and confron ...

at home, he becomes involved in an

affair An affair is a sexual relationship, romantic friendship, or passionate attachment in which at least one of its participants has a formal or informal commitment to a third person who may neither agree to such relationship nor even be aware of i ...

with a

typist Typist is a person who types, a clerical worker who writes documents, using a typewriter. Skills and occupations Typist may also refer to: *Data entry clerk, someone who types data into a database via a computer or terminal. * Audio typist, someone ...

at his company and accidentally tells his wife about it while talking in his sleep. After obtaining additional evidence of the affair, she goes to confront both her husband and the typist at her husband's office.

Production

In 1927, ''

The Jazz Singer ''The Jazz Singer'' is a 1927 American musical drama film directed by Alan Crosland. It is the first feature-length motion picture with both synchronized recorded music score as well as lip-synchronous singing and speech (in several isolated ...

'' was released in the United States as the first

talkie A sound film is a motion picture A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, percep ...

film, and Japanese film companies began working on creating them as well.

Shochiku () is a Japanese film and kabuki production and distribution company. It also produces and distributes anime films, in particular those produced by Bandai Namco Filmworks (which has a long-time partnership—the company released most, if not all ...

released in 1931, the first Japanese talkie. Due to the success of this film, the president of Shochiku, Shirō Kido, commissioned Masaoka to make the first anime talkie, and he began working on it immediately. Masaoka worked on the film for a little over a year and finally completed it in October 1932. The film was released in theaters the following year on 13 April 1933. At this time, the job of

voice actor Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...

did not exist, so Shochiku used regular actors for the voice parts. Casting well-known

stars A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth ma ...

, such as

Roppa Furukawa was a Japanese comedian. Career Furukawa was born the sixth son of Baron Katō Terumaro (1863–1925), making him the grandson of Baron Katō Hiroyuki. The family custom, however, was to have the younger sons adopted by related families, so Fur ...

and

Ranko Sawa Ranko is a Slavic and Japanese given name. People People with the name Ranko include: Slavic name "Ranko" (Cyrillic script: Ранко) *Ranko Borozan, footballer *Ranko Despotović, Serbian footballer *Ranko Đorđić, Serbian football player an ...

(of the

Takarazuka Revue The is a Japanese all-female musical theatre troupe based in Takarazuka, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Women play all roles in lavish, Broadway-style productions of Western-style musicals and stories adapted from films, novels, manga, and Japane ...

), helped make the film a success.

Staff

*Original Creator, Script: Tadao Ikeda *Original Planning, Director:

*Animation:

Mitsuyo Seo was a Japanese animator, screenwriter, and film director, director of animated films who played a central role in the development of Japanese anime. He was born in Himeji, Hyōgo Prefecture. Career Initially working as a sign painter, Seo began ...

, Seiichi Harada, Saburō Yamamoto *Photography: Kakuzan Kimura *Producer: Shirō Kido *Voiceover Director:

Hiromasa Nomura Hiromasa (written: 博正, 宏昌, 弘昌, 弘将, 浩正, 大将 or 太将) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese swimmer *, Japanese composer and music producer *, Japanese f ...

*Audio: Haruo Tsuchihashi *Music Director: Masanori Imasawa Sources:

Cast

*Main character:

*Wife:

*Typist:

Yōko Murashima Yoko may refer to: People * Yoko (name), a Japanese feminine given name; variants include Yōko and Yohko * Yoko Gushiken (具志堅用高, born 1955), Japanese professional boxer * Yoko Taro (横尾太郎, born 1970), Japanese video game di ...

*Tarō:

Akio Isono Akio (written: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , or in hiragana) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese manga artist *, Japanese politician *, Japanese mathematician * Akio Ishii (石井昭男, bor ...

*Jirō: Hideo Mitsui *Hanako: Fusako Fujita *Toshiko: Yōko Fujita Sources:

References

External links