Yaneura no Rudger

Born from the creativity of Amanda's luminous mind, Rudger is an imaginary friend that she alone can hear or see. Together, they go on wild adventures in the attic above the bookshop owned by Amanda's mother. The two have pledged to follow three rules: never disappear, always protect one another, and never cry.

One day, a suspicious man named Mr. Bunting knocks on the door, accompanied by an eerie girl that only Rudger and Amanda can see. He has a keen nose for hunting imaginary friends and depriving children of their precious companions.

During one of Mr. Bunting's failed attempts to capture Rudger, Amanda gets into a fatal car accident. All alone now, Rudger must protect himself from not only his pursuer but also another peril: if an imaginary friend is forgotten, they will completely disappear from existence.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Lizzie Main

Andou, Sakura Japanese

Amanda Main

Suzuki, Rio Japanese

Rudger Main

Terada, Kokoro Japanese

Zinzan Supporting

Yamada, Takayuki Japanese

Old Dog Supporting

Terao, Akira Japanese

Mr. Bunting Supporting

Ogata, Issey Japanese

Doron Supporting

Ootani, Ikue Japanese

Julia Supporting

Hirasawa, Kokoro Japanese

John Supporting

Kawahara, Eito Japanese

Koyuki-chan Supporting

Kanuka, Mitsuaki Japanese

Nishimura, Yoshiaki Producer

Momose, Yoshiyuki Director

Hasutani, Tooru Episode Director

Ishii, Akie Episode Director

Reviews

Jan 27, 2025

MidniteAndBeyond

Recommended

Holy... stinkin... heck...

This is from the same studio that brought us Mary and the Witch's Flower. AKA one of the worst movies I've ever seen in my entire life. I don't know how many of the same people worked on this film, but this is a perfect testament as to why you should never give up creating. You may have noticed throughout my ratings that I never once give anything a 0/10. Because I personally don't believe that's right. I think the fact that a group of individuals came together and brought some sort of artistic creation to life will always be worthy of 1 ... point of some kind. To give something a 0 is essentially the same as telling someone to stop creating. Which I would personally never feel right doing.

I hated their first piece. But I wouldn't dare write off an entire company filled with hundreds of creatives because of a single project. Sometimes it's the timing. The budget. The restrictions from higher ups. Whatever it may be. It's never any one person's fault for how a movie or a show or a game turns out. And likewise, a movie or a show or a game is never solely one person's doing. That's why I continue to love something like Balan Wonderworld, despite the one person on that game's dev team who gained the most infamy. The rest of the team deserved to be prideful of their work on that game, and to not be blamed for that one person's actions. And they deserved to move on for it and create something new. And they did just that with Sonic Superstars. That's why I still have faith in ILCA and look forward to what they'll create in the future. Not because they disappointed me with Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. But because they changed my life with their perfect work on THE iDOLM@STER Starlit Season. And this is why I'll continue to look forward to everything Studio Ponoc puts out in the future. Not because of Mary. But because of Tomorrow's Leaves. Because of Modest Heroes. And because... of The Imaginary.

This was a spectacle of complete and total childhood wonder. Everything that comes with growing up and navigating the world for the first time. All the joy, all the sorrow, all the fear, all the hope, all the endless possibilities when you believe in the power of imagination. It was sincerely beautiful and heartfelt, while not shying away from the dark and twisted elements of the story it wanted to tell. The visuals are a stunning mix of gorgeous hand drawn 2D animation with 3D lighting and shading that gives it a unique look all its own while standing alongside its distant Ghibli cousins. The music is phenomenal, with a downright AMAZING credits song that I'm STILL listening to on repeat as I'm writing this review! How in the world this wasn't nominated for an Oscar... Heck, how in the world anyone, let alone the CEO OF STINKIN DISNEY can still think that animation is meant to be "just for kids" or that animation doesn't need to be intelligent or isn't capable of telling gripping and emotional stories that can stand alongside or even surpass anything live action is BEYOND me. Absolutely wild to think that people still believe such nonsense.

This wasn't a perfect film. There were some bits here and there that didn't entirely make sense, which I will openly admit. I don't even think things needed to be changed. Just cut those bits out and you're good to go. I'm trying not to get hung up on those few pieces that didn't quite hit as strongly as the rest of the film, but I also know that there are people who'll have their entire opinion on this film defined by those moments. Which is a shame, really. But I guess that choice is on them. If I'm being completely objective, this film is like an 8. There are some bumps in the road, but I'm sorry. I simply don't care. The parts that I loved, I REALLY loved. The parts that were great were perfect. It's one of the best works of art I've ever seen and handled a very special subject matter better than anyone else I've seen attempt a story like this before them. It's made me a fan of this studio for life and will have me looking forward to every single thing they create in the future. Thank you for not giving up. Thank you for continuing to create. To dream. To imagine. And thank you... for sharing your imagination with the rest of the world. And for encouraging others to do the same.

10/10

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Apr 5, 2025

dograzor

Mixed Feelings

Visuals generally good, if a bit over-busy at times although is more distinct in it's style than Mary and the Witches flower and a stronger movie overall. The script is the movie's major weak point as it was fairly predictable and meandered around with a lot of tiresome exposition, although the starker sequences through the backalleys worked a lot better, and it did a good job overall of representing a British city.

Most of the characters and especially the villain were fairly generic and uninteresting, although his sidekick is probably the movie's most striking and interesting character. Bonus point for the IKEA shark cameo.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Apr 11, 2025

1stDecame4Danime

Not Recommended

A very uninspired Peter Pan story. It's much like that American TV show 'Happy!' except that was a mature action comedy parodying exactly this kind of childish story played straight.

The art style is of boring western animation people in a boring Japan-English Western setting. Terribly uninspired for a fantasy story, and the fantasy stuff is very brief and often just dumb silly childish cartoon characters. Would've been better if the fantastical imagination lands were more vibrant with color instead of being more of the same.

There is nothing to really say about this. It's a shallow "growing up is a thing' and 'mortality exists oh no' ... movie of boring visuals and dumb characters. The plot is mostly 1-note with a bunch of filler and counterproductive exposition to pad the runtime before the 1-note ending happens.
This is very much a young children's movie. Which makes the overt and numerous sexual undertones of the antagonist towards children an odd choice given that it has no relevance to the story whatsoever. Not beating the allegations anime moment.

Watch Happy! instead.

Reviewer’s Rating: 2

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The official website for the Yaneura no Rudger (The Imaginary) anime movie unveiled additional cast on Tuesday. The movie is scheduled to open in Japanese theaters ...read more

Nov 14, 2023 3:27 PM by DatRandomDude | Discuss (0 comments)

	That ending... Kary88 - Jul 27, 2024	3 replies	by LastLuminescence »» Dec 14, 2024 8:04 AM
	Poll: Yaneura no Rudger Episode 1 Discussion AoButa16 - Jun 12, 2024	5 replies	by Fabrizio00 »» Oct 7, 2024 6:19 PM
	Coming To Netflix Aryu1410 - Jan 25, 2024	3 replies	by Kayle_x_Morgana »» Jun 11, 2024 3:30 PM