This review might contain spoilers. You may proceed if you can handle the truth... https://anilist.co/anime/5802/FantascopeTylostoma/ At the beginning of his career in the animation industry the Japanese artist Yoshitaka Amano one of the most talented of his generation designed many characters for mostly tvseries. After he had collected enough experience he went independent and became a freelance artist in 1982. Against all odds he found almost immediate success with his illustrations for the novel Demon City Shinjuku and the novel series Vampire Hunter D. The latter received a selftitled film adaptation one of the first anime movies released outside Japan in 1985. Because of the films overseas success and its cult status among Englishspeaking audiences Amano quickly became famous for his gloomy detailed imaginative character designs. In the same year he also provided Mamoru Oshii with the art style and character design for the movie directors nearcareerending masterpiece Angels Egg. Over the years Amano created fewer contributions to animated works and focused his efforts on different branches such as video games art books album covers etc. Notable are his designs and illustrations for the enormous successful and famous video game franchise Final Fantasy. Till Final Fantasy VI he was the main character image and graphic designer. To this day he continues to craft promotional artwork and designs logos for the entries in the series. During his prolific career he also decided to direct two animated artistic films based on his original drawings: Fantascope Tylostoma 2006 and Birds Song 2007. Despite their different story music and appearance both share the same filming technique: the camera shows the same pictures for a couple of seconds by either moving slowly over it or standing still. Although some anime viewers may dislike this style it is one of the few options to animate fulllength movies without the support of a studio in a reasonable time. Following the unorthodox nature of the camera work the handdrawn and painted art style of Fantascope Tylostoma is distinct from other contemporary films. Although Amano is known to craft colourful detailed and sharp designs the 40minute movie lacks his typical characteristics. Instead many illustrations are only blackandwhite and blurry. His stroke of lines and brushes is coarse quick and dense. The simplistic art style fits perfectly the modest story centred around the mythical symbolism of shells: birth death and eternity. The plot integrates all three meanings excellently and the creative wily satisfying ending might catch some viewers by surprise. Whilst the dialoguefree scenes the classical moody score skillfully captures the dark postapocalyptic atmosphere. Albeit many aspects of the picture are close to perfection the short runtime weakens its impact significantly. To summarize Fantascope Tylostoma is an instance of the beauty of simplicity. Despite the movies artistic endeavours casual and devoted anime fans can enjoy it because of its thrilling story. Unfortunately no streaming service offers the film at the point of writing. If you get the chance to see it in the future do not miss the opportunity.