Kick-Heart

Genre(s): Sports, Comedy, Romance

Age-Appropriateness: 13+ (violence, sexual themes)

Platforms: None (Main Site)

Episodes: One 12-minute short.

TheAwersome Rating: 7.6 / 10 (Here for the animation)

Premise: By day, Romeo Maki is a respectable man who loves bringing gifts to the local orphanage, and Juliet is a newly employed nun working at said orphanage. However, by night, they are Masked Man M and Lady S, popular professional wrestlers. Kick-Heart tells the story of what happens when this dynamic pair meet in the ring, the only place where they can express their hidden desires.

TheAwersome’s Thoughts: This is a fun, short, kick-starter funded one-off by animator and director Masaaki Yuasa (Eizouken, Devilman Crybaby) that makes full use of his signature sketchy, surreal style. There’s very little dialogue as most of the storytelling is done via the action, allowing the distinct animation to really shine through. You’ll notice a bit more of a Chuck Jones style (Looney Tunes) to the animation than you’d typically see in Anime, but Masaaki’s works are usually a good stone’s throw away from typical anime style.

TLDR: A fun neat short that feels like an art piece rather than your typical animated show.

If this looks familiar to you, it’s likely because someone took clips of this and made an AMV to Jack Stauber’s song that went meme-viral: “Buttercup.” To be honest, it works VERY well in the music video it was cut to, and the song is insanely catchy:

Kick-Heart can be viewed in full at its main website: https://kickheart.vhx.tv/

You’ll likely enjoy this if you enjoyed:

• Animation-centered artistic pieces such as Liz and the Blue Bird
• Masaaki Yuasa’s works such as Eizouken, Devil-man Crybaby