Although this is only a 6 minute short film and may not seem like a big deal I just want to point out that this review does have blatant spoilers The Myth of Shit syphus I dont consider myself to have the best taste when it comes to anything. Whether this applies to my palate for food or various expressions of art its all the same. With that being said I want to state that critiquing a short animated film does not come naturally for me. Ill refrain from discussing too many different angles on Holy Shit and instead focus on dissecting the films story itself. I hope to make the story more clear to the reader. This film makes it rather difficult to figure out what the heck is going on. By putting the plot into words I want to show that Takuya Shibuya did not intend for Holy Shit to be an ambiguously hysterical short film for graduate school rather there is something resembling a concrete purpose for this film. If one pays attention the meaning behind Holy Shit becomes apparent. Unpacking the Story Holy Shit has an odd opening sequence. As soon as the film begins an enigmatic translucent figure shows up. Its hard to make out what it is but it does not seem to be a human beingat least not fully. The figure begins to morph as its shades begin to ebb and flow between light and dark. With the film appearing only in black and white the creature and everything on screen shifts in and out of focus contrasting the darkness and the light. This allows for the nature of the figure to become visible to the audience. https://i.ibb.co/9wzq62R/ScreenshotterYouTubeHolyShitHolyShitTakashiSHIBUYA028.jpg The figures face resembles that of an ape or a gorilla while the body is that of a nude human female. The perpetual shifting of the shading makes it hard to tell but I watched this film a few times. I paused during this scene to make sure that the body was indeed that of a woman Ive been outside a few times so I have seen my fair share of the opposite sex. The nature of this apelady image is yet unclear but it could be a nod back to the initial opening statement of the film: Nobody will get my loneliness. Could this apelady be the individual expressing this sentiment? The answer to this question is not certain but one cant help but think that this is Shibuyas intention. The rest of the film seems to hint at this being the directors attempt to implicate their own feelings upon the creature. As the film progresses the apelady begins to caress the ground with all four legs when suddenly it lets out an unholy roar from its anus. It lets out a massive asstastic alarm while a few turds proceed to fall out. After these globs of poop are released the screen fades to black while a woesome tune begins to play. Its iconic and incredibly fitting for a film of this caliber. The aforementioned scene is more of an opening to introduce the title and provide a brief insight into the film. This scene makes a lot more sense after watching the film in its entirety. Following this scene the films unnamed protagonist is introduced: A slimy white anthropomorphic figure that resembles an elephant. This elephantman sports a fedora and finds himself twirling around dancing in the midst of its living room. The creature stands before a sketch that resembles the apelady that appeared during the opening. https://i.ibb.co/M5tzTNF/ScreenshotterYouTubeHolyShitHolyShitTakashiSHIBUYA107.jpg Later on elephantman goes outside. He is fishing. Clearly enjoying himself he catches fish after fish with ease. One may assume that this is his lifeline. Its not clear how he provides for himself like this. It seems that this either is how he feeds himself or how he makes a living. Perhaps its both. Regardless of whatever it may be this peaceful life will not last long. Its only a matter of time before this peaceful rustic life is stripped away from elephantman. The tone and the mood of the story alters completely within seconds. Theres a paradigm shift. The music changes becoming more chaotic. The colors and shading becomes darker. The story is no longer focused upon the elephantman but upon different creatures instead. Although they look similar they have distinct differences. Instead of having a trunk on their face these creatures have one between their legs. In addition to this their faces have a snout resembling that of a pig. These piglike creatures go around wielding their penis snouts. They swing them here and there walking all weirdly about. They even have sword fights with one another. It looks really bizarre and its hard to tell what is going on. At this point in the film it definitely seems that the film is aimless and without purpose. I honestly thought that the Shibuya just made this for shits and giggles and was only focused on the animation fulfilling the requirements for their graduate schooling. This feeling began to wither away for me during the remaining portions of the film. After this hectic penis snout scene the film takes the audience back to the elephantmans homestead. His peaceful life as a fisherman is interrupted. A huge godlike hand thrusts down a tower in the midst of the pond. The elephantman is taken back with fear but his body language shows that he is not surprised. There is a shot during this part that shows a dilated pupil of an eye one which presumably belongs to the elephantman. An absence of light in the eye dictates despair and nods back to the beginning of the film where nobody will get my loneliness is first introduced as a theme. https://i.ibb.co/YD7S17c/ScreenshotterYouTubeHolyShitHolyShitTakashiSHIBUYA011.jpg Filled with resolve and fear the elephantman begins to climb the tower. Nothing slows him down. Something possesses him causing him to reach higher and higher climbing faster and faster. He resembles that of Sisyphus pushing the boulder to the top of the mountain. After reaching the top of the tower he begins to rest. Within seconds the godlike hand the one which placed down the tower in the first place flicks him off as though he were nothing more than an ant. As he is falling the film takes the audience back into the eye of the elephantman. This is where the puzzling pieces of the films meaning begin to fall in place. Holy Shit and its chaotic gibberish finally begins to make some sense. The scene zooms into the eye where the apelady from the opening scene is shown. Zooming in on her arse when the poop initially fell out it shows that the turds were living creatures. It demonstrates them as living. This shit is not just shit. This shit has an actual life cycle. https://i.ibb.co/n3800HZ/ScreenshotterYouTubeHolyShitHolyShitTakashiSHIBUYA419.jpg As the shit falls out of the apeladys arse they all resemble that of the elephantman. The elephantman creatures end up on a conveyor belt. This is where they are stripped away of their trunks. The godlike hands remove the trunks from their faces leaving behind a piglike snout. As they are sent on their way a new trunk magically grows and poofs out from their crotch region. It looks like what would take place if someone popped a 3foot erection. All of the piglike creatures are mass produced and sent out in this manner. The film ends soon after this scene as it continues to expound and show the rest of the shits life cycle. Concluding Thoughts I apologize for dragging out this summary for so long. My intention was to make the story as clear as possible because it is very difficult to discern what is taking place on the screen. This unpacking is my attempt to put my experience of the visuals into my own words. The only reason I am able to illustrate the process of Holy Shit and its story is due to the fact that I watched the film multiple times. Though there are many ways that Holy Shit can be interpreted I feel that this story is most suitable to be viewed through an allegorical lens. I cannot say that I know exactly what the creator had in mind when making this film because I do not. Honestly I do not have any clue what their intentions were. Though that is the case I do think this was made through genuine spirit. Despite the absurdity of Holy Shit and its premise I could sense raw emotion during each frame. This felt like a portrait of ones innermost feelings it seems like an attempt to illustrate the anxieties desires and struggles of an individual searching for the answers to the problems they find in their own life and in the world around them. Each and every individual is unique. Expressing ourselves fully is difficult if not impossible. No one can truly understand another. These thoughts are concepts that the film drives into the audience throughout its 362 second life span. Despite the barriers that separate us as individuals it does not mean that we cannot put in the effort to be there for those around us. Perhaps Holy Shit intends to show us that life itself is fundamentally flawed. Through this we can assume that even though life is shit its holy shit as long as we are all in this together. All of us are the elephantman.