Night Is Short, Walk On Girl · reception & legacy
2017 · Masaaki Yuasa
How Night Is Short, Walk On Girl has been received, argued over, and remembered.
The arc
It arrived already beloved — a hit with critics and festival juries in 2017 — and its stature has only grown as Yuasa's western fanbase exploded, so it's less a reappraisal story than a steady climb from anime-fan favourite to consensus gateway drug.
What's debated
The perennial fan debate: do you need to watch The Tatami Galaxy first, or is this the better entry point into the Morimi–Yuasa universe?
Its footprint
The black-haired girl's superhuman night of drinking — cocktails, faux Denki Bran, drinking contests — is the film's endlessly screenshotted, gif-ed image, shorthand on film Twitter and Letterboxd for chaotic-good nights out.
Where it stands
A Letterboxd darling and the standard 'start here' recommendation for Masaaki Yuasa, sitting comfortably in the modern anime-film canon just below the Ghibli tier.