Best Friend - Animation Short Film 2018 - GOBELINS 

“heyy arthur” aw shit. here we go again

the thing that disturbed me most was how these supposedly 'best friends' only stood by and watched while the main was being attacked...and yet he still prefers them over real people

These are the types of horror that scare me, the dystopian vibe, fake loved ones and friends, addiction to technology always makes me sick and this is why this animation is just amazing

The fact that the guy who almost killed him looked like an older version of our protagonist kinda shows how he will turn out because of his addiction

People are saying he would've learned his lesson after nearly being killed but in reality we too would try it again i like how the creator was honest in the ending

Plot twist: Arthur was attacked by his future self.

One thing of note was the fact that other people in the crows had the same implant but were still socializing with others shows that him becoming addicted was through overusage and his own lonliness

4:35 I’ve watched this a few times but I just notice how in this scene, his tears are vibrant yellow. Shows just how much he’s been using the product

The sad part is that he didn’t even learn his lesson

The irony of mass amounts of people socializing, yet are still lonely. I loved this.

Notice the genius design of each "Best Friend" the device has. Each of them are meant to be the motivation, assisting type with positive attitude. From Cami's casual retro-tech design, to a surfer bro, a wizard, a task-managing ball, a cheery girl, and a game controller. You can tell that each of them are meant to be the type of "friend" everyone wants.

Did you notice when she gave him the recommendation for the one-star rated machine? He listened to her, and he was led to a shady space where he got attacked. I think a main idea of this short is that a true friend would not put you directly in danger.

The fact that being lonely hurts so much that he got addicted to that little taste of what being loved/cared for felt like, even if it wasn't real

This was like an episode of Black Mirror condensed down to 5 minutes

I like the little details that you might not notice on the first watch. It seems Best Friend is more than just a virtual friend package, it's essentially a modern cell phone. It includes calls, messaging, camera, videos, and anything else you'd find on a phone, perhaps even social media. It just so happens that the virtual assistant/s that come with the product function as "friends." I like that the message isn't just about loneliness caused by addiction, and that addiction being fuelled by that loneliness, but also about social media in the modern times. Although anyone find it weird that such a modern piece of technology doesn't have the ability to call the authorities if the user feels threatened?

it's scary how this is becoming more and more relatable and I'm falling down that hole...

The ending had me like “Oh yay he doesn’t have it any-“ *closes cabinet* “WHYYYY WOULD YOU GET IT ON THE OTHER SIDEEE”

*Will no one talk about how rich "Best friend" company's owner is?*

I think an interesting thing is that, we see in that huge line to the machine that, while everyone also has the yellow dot indicating they have the Best Friend, they're not talking to themselves. They're turned to each other, looking each other in the eyes and even touching each other. They're not completely isolated and dependent like Arthur is, which is even sadder because that means he's voluntarily pushing himself into relying on nothing but the Best Friend. There ARE people he could connect to, but he just doesn't allow himself to.

This really hits close, especially because he didn’t try to stop after nearly dying, everything you could ever imagine can push you beyond your limit but addiction somehow always wins, no matter what, sometimes it’s just like that, you have to take to step yourself, nothing can push you to do it, YOU have to push yourself. This was an amazing experience to watch

them: "we are your friends" also them: watches as your head get cut by a maniac

Did anyone notice that his tears were yellow towards the end? I think that it was a creative way to show how much he uses the liquid for his friends

Here comes colour theory, yellow can mean happiness and lies. Which is brilliantly displayed here, amazing job by the creators!

This reminds me of when i was once an addict. It was our "cure" for our "happiness". It was like a rollercoaster ride that we couldn't stop. We kept wanting more and more of it, no matter the consequences. We thought we were in control, but in hindsight, we were completely out of control. There are a lot of people who go through it too, so I say "we."

3019 kids commenting about how this is relatable.

The fact when the man attacked him and the friends could not do anything really shows how much real friends mean, ones who got your back

何年も前にこのアニメを見つけて以来、何度となく思い起こされては見に来てしまうほどにお気に入りの動画です。 主人公の“アーサー”という男性の境遇などを読み取ると、現代社会人の抱える重圧や依存が垣間見えるのがとても秀逸です。 以下は“自分なり”の解釈を適当に書き記したものです。 ・“アーサー”という名前から、親から過度な期待を押し付けられているような印象を受ける ・主人公の所作や言動から“根は優しいが、人付き合いが不得手で孤独な人物”であることが伺えられる。現代よりも進んだ時代にありながら家族や友人から祝ってもらえない様子や、歌うことに夢中で予備のナノマシンを踏んでしまうところからも読み取れる。 ・Best Friendの“利便性”よりも、“自分と対話してくれる存在”として依存している主人公とホームレスが、スマートフォンあるいはSNSといったものの象徴に見える。 ・ホームレスは主人公のような(寂しさを煩わせるものとして依存している)人の成れの果て。孤独を埋めるために何かに依存しすぎて破滅した人 ・ホームレスのこめかみに付いている端末が他のものと異なっている。これは “規格が古いものが付いていて、かなり前からBestFriendに依存している” “何度も端末の取り換えを繰り返した結果、引き剥がせないように固定化された” “他社から引き剥がした端末を無理やり埋め込むための非合法？な機器” のような様々な考察が考えられる。いずれにせよ、彼がアーサー以上に依存してまともな思考回路を保てない状態にあるのは明らか

Don't you think that the man who atacked Arthur looks kinda like Arthur himself???

"Everybody loves you, but nobody likes you, and that is the loneliest feeling in the world" -Bojack

The most creepiest thing about this animation is the fact that all of this could be real in a couple of years, is like a happiness drug, like the social media has been on this last years, we want connections, relationships, etc. A thing that wifi or metaverse will never replace

The fact this is becoming a reality💀💀💀💀💀💀

The man who tried to kill Arthur had many scars on his face which suggests he was very much more addicted than Arthur.

i thought this is about some guy who is in a friendzone, damn this got dark real quick

I noticed, by the way, a detail that was not described in the comments. Other people, despite the fact that they have a “Best Friend”, still communicate with real friends, only the main character is completely buried in virtual friends. So I would call the idea of ​​the short film not “technology is killing society”, but the idea of ​​loneliness, as lonely people simply have no other choice.

I remember watching this for the first time in 2018 as I was about to go to sleep in a hotel in Costa Rica with some high school friends and being so blown away by the beautiful animation and storytelling. I recollect this moment as one of the most influential on me aspiring to become an animator. Also at the time this felt as a black mirror episode, but now I totally would see this as a Love Death and Robots episode.

3:44 all those spots on his head are his past best friends. He probably had many stolen or broken. Thats why he was crazy for one

I think that the man who attacked Arthur is supposed to represent the man he would become if he continued using that technology. At the end it's revealed that Arthur has gained a scar, just like the many the other man had.

As someone who struggles to socialise with real people and daydreams a lot about being in relationships I can feel comfortable in this is very relatable.

i feel like the mirror scene is the initial scene where he starts to like, lose everything. he constantly stays perfectly symmetrical on the line in the middle of the mirror. both sides are completely identical, but one has best friend.

Best friends that can’t even help you when someone’s attacking you 👌

This animations avoided so many cliches by making him just going back his friend at the end

This terrifies me and makes me feel sad at the same. It hits harder than it should, and that's saying something because I already have a best friend. I'm watching these videos as inspiration for a fanfiction I'm creating, and to also get research on the topics. This short is great.

scary how close we're getting to this point.

honestly,, that creepy guy couldve just taken the eye drops instead of the actual thing

1:10 I never saw this before but Arthur’s cake only has one slice when he’s in reality. Edit: just saw this now & wowie that’s a lot of you, thank you so much!

I watched this video when I was just a little girl. Maybe I didn't want to accept it and I didn't want to understand it, also because I lived as an outcast from all the children. In fact, from there I began to create my own world, paracosm is the exact term. Now that I've grown up and I'm understanding the dangers of my addiction to the imaginary world, this video is much clearer to me. I avoided it and many times RU-vid offered it to me, I was afraid to see myself in that character again and I think this proves how wonderful the work behind this project is ❤️

I remember when I first watched this back in high school I almost fainted from seeing this. I was that disturbed. The part that really disturbed me the most was when the homeless dude used a sharp glass piece to rip off the main character's dot thing. That really disturbed me.

3:45 I just realized that those scars represent how many time he’s gotten those “best friends” things implanted onto his head. Good Lord.

This is both depressing and interesting

Sometimes I go back to see this animation and I’m still impressed everytime

As a person who had a "friend" in characterAI. I can relate to this so much

I thought this was gonna be a cute little short film about bestfriends but I guess not 😭😭

I thought he actually had friends and was really tired at first until she started glitching... This is really a biggest nightmare of mine now

The way the guy who attacked him looks like a future version of himself...the scars he has from other cips ...they correlate with his first scar.Its what he will become.

Comming after Apple glass announcement and get shocked when I find that film 4 years ago

Poor guy. He’s so lonely that he can’t live without those eye drops, and it’s only sinking him deeper into addiction. This is too real. Having social anxiety and not being able to make friends with people really sucks.

Don't do cyber drugs

The fact that I went out of my way to search for this video should say how memorable it is, amazing job

This video is a genius, because it's similar so to drugs. It somehow gives him relief and happiness, but it doesn't do anything good to you. Like how the "Friends" just silently watched him get beat up by that robber guy; in the man's mind they make him happy but they're useless in the real world. (Bad grammar sorry)

I think it's over looked how expensive this addiction is. Every pack is 60 dollars, and Aurthur had like 4 packs in that one night.

Did anyone notice that the girl in the beginning never finished her sentence

Out of all the shorts on RU-vid, I want this to be a movie so badly…

I dont think that Arthur will end up like the man, probably just me coping with such a terrific idea but I do like to think that one day he gets a new virtual friend after an update and zoinks pop and boom its a real person Vut scince this needs to be sad, maybe he never finds out before they die or something

5:00 did he finally learn the value of real friends? 5:06 alright nevermind

I think it's funny that people keeps saying that he hasn't "learned his lesson". What lesson was he suppose to get out of this? If anything, it's more of a reason to get back to his virtual friends. Arthur ironically got attacked by a real person, and had a bunch of real people walk around him when he's having an episode. It's no surprise that nothing is different. lol

it's amazing. it is just five minutes, and yet you still feel everything, from the sense of impotence to the fear and pain to the need, the addiction. it's a masterpiece.

Honestly, a lot of the time reality already feels that way. Loneliness in company, the desperation to be in company, but not of other people, the terrifying reality that people will turn on you. Miserable, yes, but true to life.

I don’t wanna be that guy, but who else wants this to be like a movie on Netflix?

I recall reading someone's comment "I thought the homeless man was gonna show him the meaning of life by becoming his real friend. Boy was I wrong." It really caught my attention because I didn't see it that way when I first saw this.😮

That was definitely the most disturbing short film I’ve seen so far. Amazing job!

Most of these short thesis films leave me satisfied with how much story plot I am given, but this is one I wish I could see more of

I think at the end it means that somtimes even if we know that our friends or our relationships are fake with people, we can not just let is go. Not because we can't do it, because we are afraid to be alone

Feels like that one episode of Black Mirror... except that the main character didn't learn his lesson this time

The horrifying part is that this kind of thing is actually coming true now, with the advent of these new chat AIs

This is why it’s important to go out and make/meet actual real friends.

I really love how there is no redemption. This is just a look into this guys life, a man at his lowest point. He loses everything, literally ripped from him. He doesn’t deal with not having his friends anymore. He simply replaces the dot, and falls straight back into the same routine. It’s beautifully tragic, yet so simple. I love it.

This should be a Black Mirror episode men GREAT JOB!

Did anyone notice how the reason he uses so many is probably because he’s using it up on SO MANY “friends” instead of just one?

in 3:44 you can see how the guy that attacked the main character has a bunch of scars on his face, showing how many of those "best friends" he has had, being truly addicted to it. damn.

The fact that the hologram girl is not even program to think about his safety is really scared me, Everything is safety first but the creator just programmed her to just literally pick up a really low rate machine in the place like that, just to have him buy more of their stuff.. And the fact that they don't even program 'contact help if the costumers is in danger' and let them just standing there, watching their costumers(or friends..?) hurting and dying from something... God, it's so scary. The creator of this 'Best Friend' products is a real monster.

I feel y'all ignoring the fact that we he confronted the wrong guy and was shoved after making the mistake, no one cared that his head was bleeding nor did they bother to even see what was wrong or why he was freaking out; he isn't the only one at fault since society proved that when he needed them most they didn't care or bother to help him which influenced his need and dependency on the holograms since he still believes they're always there for him

What gave me goosebumps was that the man who attacked him had MULTIPLE BestFriend scars! 😢😢😢

this reminds me of Apple's Vision Pro - I feel like this will be one of the later consequences of overindulging in the digital world, up to the point where people lose interest in the real world. It makes everything seem easier and perfect but ruins your life, but you still feel addicted to it

It's cool how you see people with normal relationships, and then there's Arthur. It is still normal to make real friends, but Arthur chooses not to.

That's some good ass voice acting

"Alone ..in a crowded World.. where any random stranger could have been a really good friend " wrote this few days ago n here i am finding this beautiful work that translate it ♥️

It's funny how extroverted people think introverts can turn a switch and make friends

All the comments ive seen so far aren’t giving the main character enough credit. Yes he’s addicted to this scary technology, and yes addiction is bad. But it’s his loneliness that created and feeds that addiction to being with. And that lonely feeling caused desperation and his desperation led to his addiction. He would’ve been alone on his birthday if not for these holograms, so I really sympathize with him. That being said everything about this animation is so impactful. It’s very well done.

This short film is really scary, and like Black Mirror it shows what would happen in a society that values more superficial comforts over human needs. I have heard something similar happens in Japan: some adult men feel alienated from society because of overworking and high expectations from their families, and some can develop toxic habits like playing date sims to deal with loneliness, and even wanting to marry virtual characters.

well this makes me terrified for the future of neuro-tech, I REALLY hope it never turns into an industry like this nearly replacing real friends and/or real connection

He loves his virtual friends more than his life.What if he had real friends.....

3:45 Pretty symbolic how they look almost identical if you remove their hair from the equation, almost like an omen of what he’ll eventually turn into if he doesn’t stop.

I think everybody missed the fact he celebrated his birthday by himself

This is such an incredible short film one of the few I go back to there’s so much to analyze and understand in it it’s so thought out and soo beautiful.

MAN this is unsettling😨 Good thing being addicted to escaping reality can never happen in real life, Right?😶

I thought near the end of the video the guy would finally learn he didn’t friends in the form of holograms. Boy was I wrong.

I think this short film is a lot darker AND more hopeful than people initially realize. Watch it again. If you pay attention you'll notice that the main character is WAY over-abusive with his usage. There's a shot at 1:27 showing that he's the only one of few people up and using at that time and the only one seemingly using that much. I mean, it is his birthday but still, excess is excess. Then a minute later at 2:27 you get a glimpse at other people that despite this "Terrifying new technology" have somehow managed to form seemingly normal adult relationships. You see a couple, some friends, a distracted mother and child... There's more than one scene like this. There's some kind of club scene later on where you see people out in crowds interacting with other real humans. Another thing to note are the scars on the attacker's head (3:43) look familiar (5:00)? The attacker serves not only as a would-be wake up call but also as an omen of what the main character's life can come to if he keeps up with his addiction. Which he does. Now, the reason I say this short is more hopeful is because it very intelligently shows that it is not very likely that we will become victims of some ominous/all-powerful new tech. What this actually shows is a brilliant picture of addiction and how it is not the product to blame for our abuse but rather our lack of self-control or naiveté that is to blame for our own downfall. In other words, using is not bad, abusing is the real problem, or we are still in control/still have a choice. The reason I say it's darker than we may realize is because this isn't depicting some horrible dystopian future, this is depicting us as we are NOW. We have addicting new technology that can take over our lives and leave us quite lonely and and make us dependent upon it. There are people that exist TODAY that will waste away any spare moment of their life being entertained, to the point of addiction, to the point of violence, to the point of death. Look up stories of people dying whilst playing a video game. The reason this is so terrifying is because this could happen to you now. this IS you now. You are constantly in the presence of some new technology that demands your attention and the choice is in your hands will you hand your life, attention, time, to the make believe to the newest and coolest THING in favor of actual relationships with PEOPLE? Or, will you "wake up" in a sense and use this new tech as a mere tool to your advantage, practicing disciplined control over IT and not letting IT control you?

Bruh this should be a movie 😳 this would be one of my fav movies of all time. I even keep rewatching this. So short but so good.

Amazing animation and story! I couldn't take my eyes off the screen!

Plot twist: the virtual bestfriend has a boyfriend