Ryuu to Sobakasu no Hime

"U" is a popular social media platform where people can create a virtual persona and start a new life. Among its five billion users, one newcomer is quickly gaining attention: Belle, a beautiful singer whose alluring melodies slowly capture the hearts of the masses. But in this space where everyone hides behind an avatar, curiosity arises over who the mysterious girl truly is.

Suzu Naito—a shy girl from the countryside—can no longer sing following past trauma, all her efforts resulting in breakdowns and illness. However, when Suzu joins U, she is once again able to project her voice. Under the alias "Belle," her vocals soon go viral, receiving both love and hatred. Meanwhile, rumors spread of a chaotic beast within U, known only as "The Dragon." After a chance meeting during her concert, Belle finds he is not as evil as the stories suggest. Now, both online and in the real world, Suzu has to face the struggles of identity, fame, and opening one's heart.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Naitou, Suzu Main

Nakamura, Kaho Japanese

Ryuu Main

Satou, Takeru Japanese

Chikami, Shinjirou Supporting

Sometani, Shouta Japanese

Betsuyaku, Hiroka Supporting

Ikuta, Lilas Japanese

Watanabe, Ruka Supporting

Tamashiro, Tina Japanese

Hisatake, Shinobu Supporting

Narita, Ryou Japanese

Yoshitani Supporting

Moriyama, Ryouko Japanese

Nakai Supporting

Iwasaki, Yoshimi Japanese

Hatanaka Supporting

Nakao, Sachiyo Japanese

Fox Supporting

Miyamoto, Mitsuru Japanese

Sinterniklaas, Michael Producer, ADR Director

Hosoda, Mamoru Director, Original Creator, Screenplay

Nakamura, Kaho Theme Song Performance

Tsuneta, Daiki Theme Song Composition, Theme Song Lyrics

Reviews

Feb 5, 2025

Caeruleus_CCXVI

Recommended

8/10 ~ Hosoda's 2nd best movie... so far

This year I decided to go through and watch Hosoda's entire discography and this was pretty much the last one. (Skipping Coo because I know its bad). Honestly with the exception of in my opinion his best work, Wolf Children, all of his work has progressively gotten better almost chronologically by release date. However he still seems to have this one problem with trying to cram too much into a movie, man just make a series already so you can put everything you want in them. Because of the format that are 1.5 -2 hr movies there has ... to be alot of restraint on what they can include, how far in-depth they can go into background, development and theme past 1-2 main focal points like a main charecters actions and experiences. Belle, the movie, struggles mostly with every single character that isnt Belle, the main character. Hosoda really needed to pick a lane of, Best friend, the love interests, her identity-crisis/career path, Family (dad and old ladies), or the cyber world. There may be more lanes but all of these were pretty underdeveloped in my opinion. However the focal point of depression and anxiety that the main character underwent was done pretty well for a 2hr movie. I have to point out that I am not a big fan of musicals, but this one did not bother me so much for whatever reason. If you did not realize this is very lightly based on 'Beauty and the Beast'. That being said this one took more from 'Summer Wars' then Beauty, which is quite silly. I wouldn't be surprised if this is some sort of off shoot or indirect sequel to 'Summer Wars'.

Pros:
- This movie does the extremely rare thing of using mixed art styles/mediums to depict diffrent worlds. Heavy 3rd animation for Cyber space and more traditional 2D looking anime for "real life". I really wish other anime did this more, been asking for this for YEARS
- OST was pretty good
- English VA was great
- depiction of depression and how childhood trauma lives with us every day until its resolved was... well that was too real
- Extremely rare time where the rewatch value is insane on the 2nd time watching it Subbed Vs Dubbed and switching to the other. I cannot think of a single example where this is the case for another film (that is not humor related)

Cons:
- English dub did not subtitled all the texts and things written out or texted in Japanese to other charecters, forsure lost alot in that
- the ending was VERY rushed... just kinda ended lol
- fight scenes were very unnecessary and not very good
- not sure how this one will age with technology as it is more of a futuristic 'what if' of the near future with cyber space
- the mouth sync on the English dub is noticeably bad... that is really rare in modern anime
- See all points above for too many plot devices in 2hrs
- I really dont like when I have more questions then answers at the end of a movie (unless they are thought provoking, which these were not)

Over all I think Belle is a great movie, and it falls under the category that most Hosoda's work fits into that is very approachable especially to Non-anime watchers, which I think is a big feat and important to have these pieces in the medium. This is forsure a good one to watch with the family or a loved one, but really anyone that enjoyed 'Wolfchildren', 'Boy and the beast', 'Mira', or most Ghibli movies will probably enjoy this one. Honestly this movie probably fits more into the sub category of anime films like 'Silent voice', 'your name' and 'weathering with you' more then his own works which is kinda interesting.

I am very excited for 'Hateshinaki Scarlet' that apparently should be airing sometime later this year, hopefully he can break his streak and overcome the mountain that is 'Wolfchildren'!

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Jan 26, 2025

Bearguy211

Mixed Feelings

I discovered the anime from TikTok (no surprise), I found the song in it so beautiful. So despite not watching anime for so long, I thought "Maybe this will be good" so I tried giving it a watch. In the first half of the movie everything was nice the climax and all, made me tear up a bit, but the introduction of the main male lead felt kinda forced, what happened did the writer force him? But I thought whatever its anime... anything can happen.
As I progress through the movie the storyline of the male lead feels like nonsense. The female lead...well, I can't ... say much, woman. She did her best.

Ps:-
avoid cyberbullying. If you feel like a victim, stop, and go offline, your persona isn't limited to your digital realm. thrust me... I spend way too much time on my digital life.... but regret? NONE.
If you are a bully, get a life.
Me? I'm just a dude who gets by with daily life

Also, I rarely write a review, so I'm just swinging whatever comes to my mind.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Dec 18, 2024

Kyou_Ryuu

Not Recommended

THE GOOD:
Stunning direction and visuals, good animation, and great music, especially the songs if you like the genre.

THE MEH:
The CGI is overall good, and in most cases it blends nicely within the visual flow. But in some scenes it sticks out like a sore thumb, looks lazily done and seems not adequate for a movie production. Belle's concert is one example.

THE BAD:
The writing is all over the place: dangling story threads without closure, story elements and themes introduced abruptly without proper anticipation, plot holes, characters lacking development, or motivation, or both. If you're looking for a movie with a tight plot, this isn't it.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
Disappointing. ... The production is triple-A level, especially the animation and the music. The story concept isn't bad either, but it looks like it has been put together by five different writers, each one with their own ideas and without any coordination whatsoever.
I wouldn't recommend watching it, unless you think that good visuals and audio can make up for a very poor script.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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	Nobody knows Hosoda's news? ihavenojob - Mar 26, 2024	3 replies	by ihavenojob »» Jan 7, 8:59 PM
	Poll: Ryuu to Sobakasu no Hime Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Noodle070 - Aug 16, 2021	149 replies	by RogueMusicFreak »» Dec 28, 2024 5:33 AM
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	i hate that it took me this long for me to figure it out mydaddy - Apr 20, 2022	11 replies	by little_shiz17 »» Nov 11, 2023 4:09 AM