This movie, with its gorgeous animated vistas and hopeful if melancholic feel was impressive overall, even if it suffered from plot incoherence. This is a trend we've noticed in some recent (non-Ghibli) Japanese anime. It also shares a typical feature of these movies, the shy, introspective girl who is drawn into a fantastic world (e.g. The Cat Returns, Wonderland). Here the goal is to explore the underworld, which seems to be a post-mortem realm filled with dead people and gods, vast and yet declining, vulnerable to human infiltration. And that is precisely what happens here, the girl chasing the voice of a love interest she will never really have, and her teacher, who collects lore about the afterlife from ancient cultures, who is looking to retrieve his dead wife. If that sounds like Orpheus, the ending certainly reflects it in some ways, but otherwise there are actually very few allusions to traditions about the underworld, beyond a few monstrous guards, and a steam-punk ancient Mesopotamian aesthetic reminiscent of Castle in the Sky. Despite the awkward plot, my kids and I were drawn in by the amazing visuals and sense of foreboding that is present at the start and only grows as the adventure continues.
Sienna's rating: 7 or 8 stars Paul's rating: 8 stars Seb's rating: 8 stars.
Sienna's rating: 7 or 8 stars Paul's rating: 8 stars Seb's rating: 8 stars.