Plot Inconsistencies, Observations, and Review

May 22, 2019 12:14 AM

Offline

Jul 2018

564127

Note: I didn't post this in the Reviews section because I don't know how to review anime, or anything for that matter. This here is just a sloppy composition of thoughts which probably wouldn't constitute as an official review.

OBSERVATIONS:
- The “mysterious stranger” — “BAT MAN” — who scared Patema at the beginning of the movie causing her to fall down the pit. WHO WAS HE? They never revealed that! Why was he there? HOW did he get there? Age’s world apparently hadn’t a clue where the Inverts were hiding. So how did this one man find it? How did he climb down the hole? How would he have gotten back out? Wouldn’t this one “bat man” have revealed his findings to Age’s world? The figure ends up disappearing and we never found out what he was doing underground. This is one example of the film revealing something, only to never touch up on it again.
- What happened to Lagos? What was his fate? We saw him in a test tube but was he dead? The movie stereotype is that test tubes can conserve a body. The film never touched on what happened after his body was revealed too Patema. We saw her shocked expression and that was it. Other than that, we just know that he was “captured”. Seems like the film forgot to touch up on that.
- Did you notice how at the beginning of the movie: Age leaves Patema in the shed and heads to school, and sneaks on a conveyor belt (smiling and then frowning). Then SHORTLY AFTER, he’s shown running through the grass, sneaking alongside a wall, and then jumping on an entirely DIFFERENT conveyor belt? Inconsistent much? Wouldn’t the first belt have led to the second one?
- Patema has multiple stuffed animals in her room, including a hen and a rabbit. I don’t think Patema OR Age’s world know animals are though. Especially Patema’s. Neither worlds actually have animals, as far as we can tell. So… what does Patema think the stuffed animals are based on? (Then again, Lagos apparently knows what “bats” are — since he knows “bat men” allegedly exhibit the same traits as the animal.)
- The first two inverts to ever witness Age’s world (aside from Lagos) were Patema and Lagos. How come Age was just there — by coincidence — at that time and location — both times the inverts climbed on the fence.
- So Age’s world turned out to be the inverse one. I still can’t believe it’s entirely underground though, and that they somehow managed to simulate clouds and a blue sky.
- Not that this is relevant to the plot, but does Age have a mother? He was very reckless throughout the movie as if he had a death wish or as if he could YOLO without troubling any family. I know his dad is dead, but who is Age staying with? Where does he live? I guess this would lead me to think he lives in a type of boarding school style settlement. There’s one (somewhat irrelevant) shot in the movie that flashes to Age’s desk… his comparably messier than the others, and featuring photos of his father (and the sky). These kinds of things are forbidden, which leads me to think this shot of his desk takes place in his dorm room.
- And Patema? Where’s her parents? I don’t think her OR Lagos are related to “Gramps”. Patema’s “family” (as they’re called in the movie) are actually just her acquaintances.
- Age gets shot in the leg but in the next scene he doesn’t even notice it. Just an observation. You can justify this one by saying he’s stunned by his new surroundings (discovering the “real” surface), which distracted him from the pain. But still. He got shot in the leg, was eventually rendered unconscious, and later woke up without feeling a thing.

SIDE NOTE:
I think the plot progression was sort of typical. Predictable at times. Nonetheless, the concept is innovative, unique, and ambitious; and it’s decently executed. Also the art was astounding. Extraordinary. It stands out. It’s detailed. It’s “pretty”, and “beautiful”. It’s colorful, and immersive. The concept is good and the art is great, and I just want to point that out. A few reviews said the plot was bad (which it wasn’t HORRIBLE — just kind of inconsistent at times)… and some said the art was bad, which is an awful thing to say because the art for this movie must’ve taken ages to produce. If this movie doesn’t have good animation then I don’t know what does. My criticism lies, once again, in the plot inconsistencies. And because it was kind of hard to keep up with the inversions and multiple perspectives — my dense-ass brain had a hard time processing everything. The character traits were a bit forced, like the main villain and the protagonist. Finally, as one review put it, the movie leaves you with more “questions” than “answers”. There’s still so much I’m wondering about. And not so much as the fate of the character AS MUCH as the logic behind the world. Age’s world turned out to be the inversion, but geez, how did they construct such a simulation like that. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. I give the movie an 8 for effort, and I think if some of my concerns were nonexistent it could easily be a 10.

Jan 30, 2021 3:29 PM

FFTHEWINNER

Offline

Jun 2017

628

"- Age gets shot in the leg but in the next scene he doesn’t even notice it. Just an observation. You can justify this one by saying he’s stunned by his new surroundings (discovering the “real” surface), which distracted him from the pain. But still. He got shot in the leg, was eventually rendered unconscious, and later woke up without feeling a thing."

It is obvious from the picture after the shot that his leg was just grazed by the bullet, hence the bullet trace on it. it didn't actually enter his leg.

"- And Patema? Where’s her parents? I don’t think her OR Lagos are related to “Gramps”. Patema’s “family” (as they’re called in the movie) are actually just her acquaintances."

Gramps clearly says "my son" in the last scene while looking at a picture of Lagos. and Patema basically says in the beginning "if Lagos was here he wouldn't been against what I did.", which means that Lagos was the one who had authority over her, AKA her dad. Those two lines clarify the family tree.

"- Did you notice how at the beginning of the movie: Age leaves Patema in the shed and heads to school, and sneaks on a conveyor belt (smiling and then frowning). Then SHORTLY AFTER, he’s shown running through the grass, sneaking alongside a wall, and then jumping on an entirely DIFFERENT conveyor belt? Inconsistent much? Wouldn’t the first belt have led to the second one?"

A: no one said that all conveyor belts must connect (I have seen plenty in airports that are close to each other but don't connect) and B: He could have simply impulsively chosen to walk on the grass for a bit.

"- What happened to Lagos? What was his fate? We saw him in a test tube but was he dead? The movie stereotype is that test tubes can conserve a body. The film never touched on what happened after his body was revealed too Patema. We saw her shocked expression and that was it. Other than that, we just know that he was “captured”. Seems like the film forgot to touch up on that.
- Not that this is relevant to the plot, but does Age have a mother? He was very reckless throughout the movie as if he had a death wish or as if he could YOLO without troubling any family. I know his dad is dead, but who is Age staying with? Where does he live? I guess this would lead me to think he lives in a type of boarding school style settlement. There’s one (somewhat irrelevant) shot in the movie that flashes to Age’s desk… his comparably messier than the others, and featuring photos of his father (and the sky). These kinds of things are forbidden, which leads me to think this shot of his desk takes place in his dorm room."

not relevant to the story of the movie. not everything needs to be known for a story to work.

Jun 19, 2021 7:53 PM

Kelvets

Offline

Nov 2010

141

FFTHEWINNER said:

Gramps clearly says "my son" in the last scene while looking at a picture of Lagos. and Patema basically says in the beginning "if Lagos was here he wouldn't been against what I did.", which means that Lagos was the one who had authority over her, AKA her dad. Those two lines clarify the family tree.

I never got the impression Lagos was Patema's biological father if that's what you mean. He was probably a very good friend who Patema considered as her father figure, but never once in the whole movie does she call him "dad" or anything. In the beginning when she "drops" (makes float to the ceiling of her room) the photograph he gave her, she calls him by his given name (Lagos) without any honorific, which as far as I know indicates extreme closeness, but not family ties (otherwise she'd address him with otou-san or similar).

KelvetsJun 19, 2021 7:58 PM

Mar 26, 2023 10:31 PM

waalex11

Offline

Dec 2009

9589

Who knows about the rest, but her father was the dead chief.
She's a legit "princess".
Regardless, her father was a chief, who died. Lagos isn't her father.

May 31, 2023 7:06 PM

Stovetopcookie

Offline

May 2023

I am late to the party on this one and I have yet to read all of the comments but I would like to say the fact that this movie leaves so many questions but interesting questions shows how good it was.

I came across this a few nights ago and purchased the movie on YouTube. I was not aware of this film when it first came out. I will agree with the OP that I am left with more questions than answers. However, the questions that I have are intriguing.

What was the day-to-day life like under Izamura? I thought he was a great villain. As evil, as he was, my stomach churned at his demise. He was such a fleshed out character. I actually felt bad for him. How did he come to power? How many dictators came before him?

How was Aiga built and by whom? How large was the city in the scene where Age is on the roof you can see a rather large city with lights below. What was their source of power? What about farming and garbage collection? Other than the teacher and Isamura’s council, we don’t see any other normal adult people besides security guards. I assume they have regular jobs What if Patima ended up exploring in a different direction? Would she have emerged in the top world?

Aiga reminds me a lot of the Truman show. The entire setting was fake with a fake sky and everything inside a dome. It was basically similar to that movie however, the gravity dynamic was added.

And all I could rewatch this film several times, and still have questions, but also find new things. One thing I’ve noticed is there were no animals in Aiga. Strange and subtle hint to something being off about this place.

Even though there are many questions that probably will not get answered I preferred this to being spoonfed every little detail and being bored by the end.

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Plot Inconsistencies, Observations, and Review

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