Tachigui: The Amazing Lives of the Fast Food Grifters Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.0

Tachigui: The Amazing Lives of the Fast Food Grifters Blu-ray Movie Review

The Amazing Lives of the Fast Food Grifters is an entertaining and ambitious mockumentary feature with a creative energy that is a joy to experience. From acclaimed animation studio Production I.G. (Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, Psycho-Pass), The Amazing Lives of the Fast Food Grifters is a unique and memorable mockumentary told with puppets and Superlivemation (a blend of live-action and animation). The mockumentary tells an alternate history – one the invention of the creators.

Executive produced by Mitsuhisa Ishikawa (FLCL: Grunge, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex), Kiyotaka Ninomiya (Garo the Movie: Red Requiem, Garo and the Wailing Dragon), Seiji Okuda (Summer Wars, The Boy and the Beast), Shigeru Watanabe (Avalon, Ghost in the Shell), and Yoshirô Yasunaga (Gururi no koto, Kagehinata ni saku), The Amazing Lives of the Fast Food Grifters is a compelling film. The Amazing Lives of the Fast Food Grifters mockumentary features narration by Kôichi Yamadera. The voice-cast for the film includes Yoshikazu Fujiki, Mako Hyôdô, Kenji Kamiyama, Shôji Kawamori, and Katsuya Terada.

The Amazing Lives of the Fast Food Grifters explores the lives of a group of nomadic food connoisseurs who are determined to dine and dash without paying a bill (or leaving behind tips) in search of some form of grand enlightenment that only food grifters can experience. Something that goes beyond the table bill – something poetic and transcendent – that only gourmand food aficionados can contemplate.

Though these “fast” food grifters dine and dash manners were originally created because of necessity (being unable to pay said bills), the evolution of these food connoisseurs somehow led to a path of food enlightenment that is somehow considered as both strangely fantastical and mythologized. A newly discovered documentary reveals the inside tales of these fast food grifters and their tale towards a world of food enlightenment. Yet the tales shared in the documentary are sometimes surprising – providing details about the dine and dashes with different points of view on the subject. Can food wisdom be earned through this method developed by the fast food grifters?

One of the most unique and fascinating elements of The Amazing Lives of the Fast Food Grifters is the Superlivemation and the way it was implemented into the feature-film. The animation style is quite unique and unusual compared to most films. The strange hybrid blend of puppetry alongside the peculiar cut-out style makes the film a lot more unique compared to a typical animated film or documentary. The mockumentary wisely uses this style for exaggerated fun – adding quite an abundance of silliness to the filmmaking.

The cinematography by Keiichi Sakazaki is visually striking and it adds to the experience in spades. The visual splendor of the cinematography is a true highlight. Sakazaki made the film look quite visually unique and different from other mockumentaries out there. Nothing quite looks like it – literally, something so distinct it seems like an all-new creation – because of the manner in which it is implemented alongside the puppetry and Superlivemation.

The score composed by Kenji Kawai (Ghost in the Shell, Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence) is a lot of fun and the music is a highlight of the production. Kawai is one of the most gifted composers in all of Japanese music. The score highlights the zaniness and over-the-top aspect of the filmmaking.

Written and directed by Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell, Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer), The Amazing Lives of the Fast Food Grifters is a creative and strange hybrid of live-action and animation featuring the so-called Superlivemation. The Amazing Lives of the Fast Food Grifters isn’t top-tier compared to the greatness of Ghost in the Shell or some of the other classics by Oshii but it is an inventive film and something quite unlike anything else seen before. It is so kooky and over-the-top, playing out a bit like an Adult Swim sketch with an auteur at the helm.

Consider the following: where else will one see a scene in an animated-film with a quirky tale about the temperature of hot food and the spiciness level of said meal with pop-out style showcase of cut-outs with puppetry utilizing live-action and animation? Nowhere else. Only here. The Amazing Lives of the Fast Food Grifters taps into something that feels distinct – it gives an impression of originality that is sometimes missing at the movies. The Amazing Lives of the Fast Food Grifters is well worth watching for fans of quirky and offbeat films told with a unique style. The Amazing Lives of the Fast Food Grifters won’t appeal to everyone but for audiences who enjoy off-kilter entertainment it does achieve something memorable.

Tachigui: The Amazing Lives of the Fast Food Grifters Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Discotek Media, The Amazing Lives of the Fast Food Grifters is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high- definition in a theatrical aspect ratio of 1.77:1 widescreen. The high-definition presentation capably showcases the Superlivemation animation and the hybrid live action footage. The video presentation is excellent and it showcases the intricacies of the encoding in an impressive manner – working well for the style of filmmaking.

The Blu-ray encode is great, too. Fans can anticipate a quality viewing on this well-done release by Discotek. The presentation also provides higher bit-rates compared to any streaming platform. Streaming video services provide lower bit-rates when compared to physical media. Blu-ray continues to be the best way for fans to watch something if one wants to get the top-tier presentation available for a feature-film.

Tachigui: The Amazing Lives of the Fast Food Grifters Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release is presented with a selection of lossless audio options: Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (with English subtitles) and Japanese DTS- HD Master Audio 2.0 (with English subtitles). The lossless audio presentation is one of the strongest points of the release. The lossless surround track is an excellent part of the experience. The surrounds are actively used and make a big impression – highlighting, in particular, the original score composed by Kenji Kawai.

The subtitles are also excellent – free from spelling or grammatical errors. No streaming video service provides lossless audio like the physical and tangible medium of Blu-ray – only lossy (non-lossless) on streaming platforms. The presentation difference is noteworthy and something to cherish about the physical format.

Tachigui: The Amazing Lives of the Fast Food Grifters Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release comes with a nice o-card slipcover featuring unique key-art different from the artwork highlighted underneath the slipcover. This element of the release adds a nice design touch from Discotek Media. A quality package design.

Liner Notes includes 20 slides of click-through notes. This is another nice feature to see included on the release. Some release come with no liner notes – or if liner notes are included, the notes are sparse. Discotek continues to provide an abundance of liner notes on their release. This is a nice aspect to appreciate about the release and the effort that was taken by Discotek to add features of value.

All About Superlivemation (SD, 1:22:50) is an in-depth feature-length exploration of the Superlivemation process – combining live-action and animation – for the puppetry and unique visual style used in the feature-film. Fans of Mamoru Oshii and his creative style may wish to check out the feature for the additional insights into the animation process.

Character Creation with Mamoru Oshii (SD, 27:12) explores the feature-film with writer-director Mamoru Oshii.

Text-free "Gray Petals" Sequence (SD, 4:36)

Karaoke "Gray Petals" Sequence (SD, 4:35)

Theatrical Trailer (SD, 2:05)

Tachigui: The Amazing Lives of the Fast Food Grifters Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Amazing Lives of the Fast Food Grifters is an entertaining and thrilling mockumentary with a sense of energy and style rarely seen in cinema. The filmmaking is fun and has a kooky over-the-top style exploding with creativity. The Blu-ray release provides an excellent video and audio presentation, including lossless surround sound and quality subtitles.

Discotek Media also provides a nice quality o-card slipcover on the Blu-ray release – something adding additional collectability for fans. The release also comes jam-packed with bonus features – the package provides a feature-length documentary about the Superlivemation animation process as well as great character creation with writer-director Mamoru Oshii. Recommended.