On-Gaku: Our Sound

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On-Gaku: Our Sound

Released Dec 11, 2020

1h 11m

Comedy

Music

Anime

Animation

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100%

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13 Reviews

75%

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Fewer than 50 Ratings

When you're a bored teenager looking for thrills, sometimes the only thing you can turn to is rock 'n roll. Having no skill, money, or even a full set of drums, a feared trio of high school delinquents nevertheless decide they are destined for musical glory in a quest to impress their only friend Aya, avoid a rival gang, and - - most importantly -- jam out. Animated almost entirely by director Kenji Iwaisawa, and featuring a lead performance by Japanese alt-rock legend Shintaro Sakamoto, ON-GAKU: OUR SOUND brings its own sound and vision to the Hiroyuki Ohashi manga from which it was adapted. With pitch-perfect deadpan humor, the film presents a highly original take on the beloved slacker comedy: a lo-fi buddy film with a blaring musical finale that will leave you wanting an immediate encore.

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Maya Phillips

New York Times

Rock 'n' roll is here to stay, and so is "On-Gaku: Our Sound," a quirky homage to classic animation and 1960s-70s rock with an idiosyncratic style and the thrumming heart of a musician.

Mar 10, 2021

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Maggie Lee

Variety

"On-Gaku: Our Sound," an oddball music comedy directed by Kenji Iwaisawa, upends all that is typical of Japanese animation.

Jun 26, 2020

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Olive St. Sauver

But Why Tho? A Geek Community

If you are looking for something different that will consistently make you laugh, On-Gaku: Our Sound is not to be missed.

Rated: 9/10

Feb 4, 2023

Full Review

Brian Orndorf

Blu-ray.com

A marvelous exploration of an askew liberation. It's as small in scale as an animated film gets, but it delivers such a wonderful understanding of character, detailed through inventive and unusual artistry.

Rated: A

Sep 6, 2021

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Paul Attard

In Review Online

Kenji Iwaisawa was able to accomplish something few in the contemporary anime industry are ever able to pull off.

Jun 5, 2021

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Erika Hardison

Flickering Myth

Has all the elements of what could be a future cult classic

Mar 21, 2021

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camille l

On-Gaku se veut être une comédie très absurde avec un trait bien particulier et une narration très lâche. Il n'y aucun problème avec cela. Mais lorsque le film traîne absurdement en longueur alors qu'il ne dure que 70 minutes et qu'il étire sa durée avec de longs plans fixes sur des personnages qui ne sont que trop peu intéressants ou alors des succédanés d'icônes d'animés précédents, il est difficile de reconnaître à Kenji Iwaisawa qu'il a réellement une patte. On-Gaku est vraiment singulier, mais cela n'est pas une qualité, c'est un style. Hormis quelques splendides idées, On-Gaku dépasse clairement son quart d'heure de bienvenue et en devient une fausse bonne idée.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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razvan p

dooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooope

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Kenji Iwaisawa

Director

Shintarô Sakamoto

Kenji

Ren Komai

Aya

Tomoya Maeno

Ota

Tateto Serizawa

Asakura

Kami Hiraiwa

Morita

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Ongaku: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

When you're a bored teenager looking for thrills, sometimes the only thing you can turn to is rock 'n roll. Having no skill, money, or even a full set of drums, a feared trio of high school delinquents nevertheless decide they are destined for musical glory in a quest to impress their only friend Aya, avoid a rival gang, and - - most importantly -- jam out. Animated almost entirely by director Kenji Iwaisawa, and featuring a lead performance by Japanese alt-rock legend Shintaro Sakamoto, ON-GAKU: OUR SOUND brings its own sound and vision to the Hiroyuki Ohashi manga from which it was adapted. With pitch-perfect deadpan humor, the film presents a highly original take on the beloved slacker comedy: a lo-fi buddy film with a blaring musical finale that will leave you wanting an immediate encore.

Director: Kenji Iwaisawa
Producer: Tetsuaki Matsue
Screenwriter: Kenji Iwaisawa
Distributor: GKIDS
Production Co: Tip Top Productions
Genre: Comedy, Music, Anime, Animation
Original Language: Japanese
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 11, 2020, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 9, 2021
Runtime: 1h 11m

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