An explosion of unconstrained expression, Mind Game plays like Yuasa’s brain splattered onto the screen in all its goopy glory—images ricochet in rapid-fire succession, styles shift without warning, and the story itself mutates as it sprints toward transcendence. It all begins when Nishi, a spineless wannabe manga artist, fails to save his childhood crush from a pair of yakuza goons and is promptly shot in the butt by a soccer-obsessed psycho. In the afterlife, he meets God—who appears as a chaotic mash of morphing forms—and is told to head into the light. Instead, Nishi bolts in the opposite direction and returns to life transformed, determined to live every second without fear or regret. 

Equal parts cosmic slapstick, spiritual epiphany, and animated acid trip, Mind Game is a full-throttle ride through the raw chaos of existence. There’s nothing else like it—and that’s exactly the point. 

This screening marks the return of Mind Game to FACETS, where it first dazzled audiences during our inaugural anime program in 2022. As we celebrate our fourth consecutive Anime Club Presents series, we’re bringing back this beloved, boundary-breaking favorite as both a nod to where we started and a reaffirmation of the wild, daring spirit that continues to define our programming.