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Feb 26, 2023
Yagyuu Jubei has become an almost mythical figure in Japanese history by now, alongside the feudal lords from the Sengoku period. However, he was undoubtably real, as were his contributions to both swordfighting and the philosophy behind it. This book, while incorporating some of the myths, presents a fairly grounded and realistic portrait of the man himself.
It starts with the theft of the so-called Yagyuu scrolls, three books that the Yagyuu family had stashed away in a secret place. Two of them deal with the Yagyuu sword style and the philosophy behind and around it, but the third one is the real problematic one: allegedly,
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it's a historical record of the Tokugawa shogunate's ruling and allegedly, it's meticulous and entirely accurate, meaning that if this record goes public, the Tokugawa shogunate is done for - they've done a lot of questionable or even outright cruel and evil things, all to keep their rule stable and otherwise uneventful. These scrolls being what they are, they need to be recovered at all costs.
The mastermind behind the theft is quickly found: it's the current Emperor Go-Mizunoo. Ambitious and proud, he is greatly frustrated at his role as nothing but a figurehead that props up the shogunate, and dreams of restoring the position of Emperor to its former glory, likewise at all costs, even if that means war again.
Aiding him is a former shinobi clan that fell out of favor and was reduced to almost-outcasts, having to become traveling performers to survive. Their young scion Yashamarou, a martial arts prodigy in his own right, also dreams of stepping out of the shadows and securing their place in society, and in his righteous anger appoints himself Yagyuu Jubei's bitter rival, intent on slaughtering his way through, if necessary, even while Jubei himself is working through his dilemma of not wanting to kill his enemies while needing to fight nevertheless. Everything leads up to the decisive duel over the Yagyuu scrolls.
Which is probably one of the myths incorporated here. I'm not familiar with Japanese history, but even a simple research on Jubei himself will reveal quite a few historic inaccuracies, like how he lost his eye, for example. It becomes clear early on that Kan Furuyama's focus was not on a hyper-accurate retelling of Jubei's life, his focus was on painting an accurate portrait of the man and what made him tick (and how and why). And, like I wrote at the start, it's fairly grounded and probably realistic. Jubei is not some sort of superhuman or one-man army, he's just a single, but capable man who needs to rely on others as much as the others rely on him. He's not simply a secret agent, he's not simply the scion of a martial arts school, he's not simply a daimyo's son, he's all those things at once and he has his own thoughts on all those matters.
However, this is not a dry character study - that would be boring. This is more of a period drama, using sequential art as a medium instead of film - and Jiro Taniguchi does well. He was always at his greatest doing quiet, contemplative work - and this is no different - but he manages to convey strong emotions as well. When Jubei prepares himself to fight off random followers of some out-of-grace daimyo, you see the danger radiating from him. When Yashamarou charges in, you feel the anger and fury that drives him. And when Yagyuu Munenori ruminates on the importance of stability, even through questionable means, you see his son Jubei ruminate on it, too.
And yet, while Taniguchi does well, he doesn't exactly do great. This is one of his earlier works, and it shows here - the art is still more or less strongly reminiscent of European and American artists, and while a distinct style of drawing faces is already present, the backgrounds still needed some work, they feel sort of generic. Sure, there are some great still landscape panels, but they are few in number, and they only serve to set the tone. The bulk of the backgrounds are much simpler, and, well, feel sort of generic. And while Taniguchi had mastered stills and simple action by then, chaotic action or battles with a big number of people involved feel clunky and hard to follow. Unfortunately, there's much more of this towards the ending, so some readers might feel disappointment at how a pretty great buildup falls so flat here.
Furuyama is not without fault, too - his focus on people, their philosophies and motivation is steady most of the time, but not all the time. At several points he introduces characters and events of importance without doing anything with them, losing the point in doing this. I guess it's a good thing to learn that the great Matsuo Basho lived around that time, too, but the way this is presented, it becomes nothing but a piece of trivia. And while the idea behind framing the whole story as something the early Meiji politician Kaishu Katsu tells his eager followers so that they may learn from it is understandable, it's not exactly necessary.
Even so, this work is worth picking up and reading, both if you're interested in Jubei Yagyuu in particular and if you're interested in Japanese history in general. The book may not be fully devoid of myth, but it still represents Jubei much better than most popular entertainment made about him.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Sep 12, 2021
Long story short: this is basically a tourist guide for Tokyo's various suburbs.
So, if you lived in or near Kichijoji and decided you want to rent a new apartment, you'd wish such a real estate agency like this one existed. This fictional one is run by lady twins who are slightly eccentric, more than slightly overweight and very much into heavy metal, but that's neither here nor there. They absolutely will, however, sit down with you to talk about your ideal apartment and will make their utmost efforts to guide you to your ideal apartment, even if it's not in Kichijoji - and somehow it
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never is. Along the way they'll show you why they chose this exact apartment for you, be it for the safety of the general vicinity or, more importantly, for all the cool shops and cafés in the neighborhood.
The twins' biggest challenge, though, is to have their own house adequately renovated.
So yes, like I said, this manga is a thinly veiled tourist guide. The client of the episode will be shown around an area they're unfamiliar with and so they'll discover it together with the reader. Of course, the art is both gorgeous and functional enough to bring out the appeal of the landscape, the buildings, the shops, and sometimes the people as well. Sometimes the drawings feel a bit clinical, but overall it's a joy to look at.
Of course it's not just an art exhibition either, there will be moments of humor, drama and calm as well, brought by various characters. Of course most of them will only appear once, the only constants are the twins and their very peculiar store clerk. But these three are more than enough to provide some comedy whenever necessary or applicable. For everything else there are the customers, and they bring their own human, down-to-Earth, realistic and relatable stories with them. Maybe one of them will find their relationship in shambles, maybe another one will feel beleaguered by a stalker, maybe yet another one will want a change of pace, or maybe yet again another one will state that her current living conditions go against her sense of aesthetics. Yes, her, for the clients are for the most part women. There is probably no special meaning here, at least I haven't been able to spot one, it's just how it is. The only problem would be that the satisfied client is out of the picture and therefore gone at the end of an episode, the next one starts from scratch with another one. But it's a big one, it's hard to care for any of them that way.
But still, it's always fun to read another episode of "Kichijoji", and not only because of the relatable women who are looking for a new place to live, not only because of the staff of Shigeta's Real Estate (although they're quirky and fun). Of course it's also because you get to see depictions of real places and landscapes in Tokyop that look as realistic as they can be in a black & white drawing. Some cafés will look neat, other will look stylish, there are some cool shops, malls and shopping streets and, as an added bonus, there are even some real people who'd be glad to be in charge of your interior design and your garden, should you ever settle down somewhere nearby. If you ever decided to take a trip to Tokyo, you could perhaps even use this manga to pick out places to visit.
Don't expect much more from this though. It is, after all, an episodic manga about taking strolls in Tokyo's various suburbs, and if that isn't enough to hook you, I'm afraid you'll feel disappointed.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Oct 4, 2020
Amateur artists often have a great image in their mind, but fail to recreate it outside their heads. It seems professionals aren't safe from this, either - and this manga is one of many such examples.
Imagine a cyberpunk-ish sci-fi world with a complete cultural melting pot, where one of the very few sources of entertainment for the masses are the "dogfights" - staged fights to the death (or destruction) between cyborgs. One of these cyborgs is Sayoko Tachibana, now known as the White Thirteen or Sirius. She sold her body (quite literally) to pay the medical bills for her sick brother Takeru and now, with
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her brain as the only human part, she mindlessly bashes cyborg heads in. Takeru isn't having any of this though and breaks his sister out of this enslavement, managing to sorta "awaken" her. Now they're both on the run from the mysterious organization that owns Sayoko's cyborg body and organizes the dogfights, and the big boss Marseille is hell-bent on bringing her back, no matter the cost.
And so the adventure of epic proportions begins. At least in the artist's head; but in reality, the story struggles a lot. A whole LOT. Almost every plot point and side story end up being not what they were hyped up to be. Be it Sayoko herself or any other character, at first there are allusions to greater depths to them, but the story simply doesn't deliver. The overarching plot ends up disappointing as well, as it ultimately does not matter. Nothing matters in the end, yet also somehow resolved off-screen in the epilogue. A-grade storytelling right there. With the appropriate characters to boot. Really, what's up with the villain? What was his deal, his obsession all about? His breakdown in the end is literally out of nowhere. And as said before, it even doesn't matter, he even admits that himself! Also what about Sayoko? All this tension about her living on borrowed time and struggling to preserve her newfound humanity? Doesn't matter, devolves to more cyborg fights. It's also not even about her and her brother, as Takeru has his hands full with his little girlfriend. The silver lining is this minor villain, troop leader Cunningham, who curiously resembles an actual human the most, he is also the one you can really get behind. And even that doesn't matter, he still stays a two-bit villain just because. Did this author ever produce anything coherent?
In the end you'll likely only stay around for the admittedly nice art and the cyborg fights. Those are cool. Everything else is bad and forgettable. Do not read, just skip through and enjoy a nun brutalizing cyborgs.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Dec 15, 2018
This should have been longer.
See, I haven't read the original novel, and I'm pretty sure hardly anyone outside Japan has, so I can only base my review on what's in front of me (the manga, obviously). But even then I can't help but feel that quite a few important things were lost while trimming the story down to a short series of comic books.
By itself, the story is still pretty good. Sure, it might be an aesop, the kind that's easily seen through, but its themes, aptly summed up with "humanity and strength of will", are timeless and will always grab your attention, no matter
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the era, which is even demonstrated by deliberately changing the setting to a far more modern one. And it wraps up nicely, too - at least that which seems to be the main issue, that which revolves around Shigeji, Ritsu, Yuuko and the kids. But even then, there are hints of there being more, as there are some "incidents" thrown in that are brought to light and dealt with swiftly, like the episode with the thieving boy or the one with the apprentice who left. Or even the issues Shigeji and Masaru may or may not have with each other. Incidents like that are thrown in sometimes, which make the story feel somewhat episodic, actually taking away some of the enjoyment.
Which is a shame, because much of the enjoyment comes from the characters dealing with those around them, especially with those that aren't the main cast. If that is cut away, what remains more or less amounts to insignificant characters or even gag characters, like the second-youngest girl, the one with the inflated ego, or Daitome's secretary, whose only defining trait seems to be ugliness. Still, what remains is enough to thoroughly enjoy every panel, which is why, I'm repeating myself here, it's a shame that there wasn't more space for more content.
All of this is at least somewhat remedied by the approach Minetaro Mochizuki had with his art here. You fellow readers are probably more used to pages or panels that are overloaded with art or with text, or otherwise utilizing the available space to the fullest. This isn't the case here; Mochizuki seems to be pretty lax here with filling in the blank space. Backgrounds are scarce, oftentimes it's just white space, but the things in focus are that much more detailed to make up for it. Mix that with close-up views, which also double as chapter openers, and you have a composition that takes a while to get used to, but then becomes fun to explore. Which makes me think it's a great thing to be able to read this as a comic book.
Which in turn makes me think all the more that it's a shame it couldn't be longer. Sorry, I can't stop harping on it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Dec 29, 2015
Sometimes I feel like art is all about putting on airs. Fortunately, it's just sometimes, but here's another example of it.
This title was highly praised by Jiro Taniguchi, who even wrote a preface for it (well, he was asked and paid to do so, but anyway). Now Jiro Taniguchi was a great artist and quite a good storyteller, even though his best works were adaptions of other people's books. You'd think he knows a good story when he sees one and usually that's true, after all, he did want to adapt all those stories others wrote. Not in this case though.
And yet everything that would
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make a good story is there: relatable characters based on real people, a nice, different setting and some good ideas. Too bad it doesn't lead anywhere. The story is supposed to be about an unusual generational conflict. It's there, but the conclusion feels like a cheat; we are kind of left hanging. We are actually kind of left hanging in general, no subplot is resolved. Everything simply ends when the main character moves away.
I can't begin to describe how big of a problem this conclusion creates, it impacts everything else. You want to know how the story ended? Too bad, there's no conclusion. You want to know what became of the main character's friend or of another character with a crush on her? Too bad, there's nothing. You want to know how the main character fared in the world of punk rock (yes, punk rock is a prominent theme here)? Too bad, that's a story you'll never see. It's frustrating to no end.
It also raises the question: why? Why did the author want to tell exactly this kind of story? Why was the setting important, why was punk rock important and why was the longing for England important? You'll search for a point, but doesn't seem to be any, because the author doesn't make one. Everything is simply... over.
And don't get me started about the impact on the characters. They are all interesting as long as they play a role, but when you reach the end and you see there's no conclusion to anything, the caracters start to feel shallow. The kind of shallow you see in mass-produced manga for otaku, where every single character has a certain trait tacked on them which is supposed to be their whole personality. I know I'm doing this title an injustice in saying this, but I can't help it.
And this is also why I talked about putting on airs earlier. There's tons of things to make critics squee over, but they are simply there. They are shown one by one and that's all. Maybe it's artful, maybe it's good art, but I personally can't appreciate something like this.
I honestly wouldn't recommend this to anyone. Not even to elitists and wannabes, even they deserve proper stories.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go re-read some Taniguchi.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Apr 3, 2015
We all know Satoshi Kon by his anime works and greatly appreciate those. Some of us may know he drew manga before making his anime debut. I knew it, too, but until now I have never read any of his manga. Now, with Opus, I've got around to doing so and I must say I wish this had been turned into a movie.
Opus is about a manga artist who draws this action manga where the main characters are telepaths and/or can use raw power as a weapon. It's supposedly a great story full of suspense, but currently, the artist is in a slump and struggles
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to produce a coherent ending. So he decides to go out with a bang and kill one of the main characters, a teenage boy, along with the villian. Problem is, said teenage boy is NOT AMUSED by this and decides to take the matter in his own hands. Subsequently, the author gets sucked into his own manga and continues to struggle to save the world he created, only this time the stakes are much higher.
Opus is unmistakably a piece of meta fiction. The moment the author finds himself in his own manga it's less about the actual story and more about the relationship between creator and creation - whether the life the characters lead is truly their own, whether or not the author has the right to decide their every step and ultimately, whether or not they are free. Thing is, they do not sit in a parlor and chat leisurly about this, they are still in the middle of a story and that's what makes it a fun read.
It's not all dialogue either, the visuals also highlight how the creator works. There is this one scene where there is an unfamiliar setting with strange buildings and the creator is like "Hey, I didn't draw that". Immediately, the buildings fall over like a cardboard cutout and it's revealed that they are rather on the small side and are inhabited by tiny creatures that have vaguely human shapes and are all drafts and the creator is like "Oh, maybe I SHOULD have put more work into background details". This also becomes an important plot point further into the story where it's the only makeshift landmark they have.
But that's not all. We all know how detailed Kon's works are and how the art style approaches realistic but is still cartoonish enough and that is used to full effect here, turning some situations surreal, like one guy who literally rises from a sheet of paper and the viewing angle is from the side so it appears like he's coming out of the desk (and that's when I wish this had been a movie, the surreal side of things would have had so much more emphasis when in motion). And it's the same art style that we see in the animated works - people with realistic proportions, normal faces, a realistic approach to things, all this. Interestingly enough, this doesn't lead to immersion, you are at all times aware that you're reading a graphic novel. This is also helped by the fact that there are no two-page spreads whatsoever, everything that happens on one page stays on one page. It's also the same for panels, they are mostly strictly limited to their borders, only rarely does a scene break the panel border. The distance between the reader and the work that this creates is a double-edged sword though, you can't enjoy this as much as you probably want to.
Speaking of enjoyment, as many good ideas as there are and as well as they are put together into one coherent work, it's not as enjoyable as it could be. One reason is the aforementioned distance, one other reason are the characters. They are alright for what they are; they are lively, they are fun to watch. But they aren't developed equally. The teenage boy from before, for example, may be a main character, but he turns out to be not much more than a mouthpiece to produce some lines about morality. The villain is presented like this super-powered guy who might be a little too much for everyone to handle, but he is barely even there, only towards the end does he appear out of nowhere to shake things up. And the only character who's actually fleshed out somehow is the woman. Yes, that's all intentional, we are supposed to see how flawed and irresponsible the author is, but we have to watch these characters the entire time. They could have developed through the course of the manga, especially now that they are acting on their own, but no, they mostly stay the same.
And another thing: the manga ends right at a cliffhanger. This is due to the publishing magazine going out of business. Usually an author who gets hit by this sort of things tries to move on to another magazine, but Kon here was already involved with his first anime at that time, so Opus fell flat. One thing lead to another, more anime got made, so there was really no time for Opus - and then Kon died. Apparently he was working on a new chapter which has been published as a rough sketch (that's all they had), but even that doesn't wrap things up. And it's a damn pity, because this really affects your experience. You WILL be disappointed once you get to the end and there's nothing anyone can do about it.
So in the end, it's a good manga and had the potential to be great, but it's not as enjoyable as it could have been. Still worth your time though, especially because it's done by Satoshi Kon. So go read this if you don't mind meta fiction and are prepared to be left hanging.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Oct 25, 2013
This title here is a TV special somewhat loosely based on a less known manga by Osamu Tezuka. It's probably for the best that the manga is less known and the changes made for television were probably for the best, but there is only so much an adapting team can do.
The story is a rather simple one and briefly told. Read the synopsis, it already contains half of it. Let it be told though that the story is not really about that time traveller. Indeed, it changes quickly to a story about the girl who we meet early on, the titular Prime Rose. But that
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doesn't change the fact that the story is somewhat predictable and entertains at all the wrong places.
The art is a bigger source of entertainment. Yes, it is old, yes, it is typical Tezuka art, but that does not save it from being laughable sometimes. Prime Rose, for example, changes her build at will - or so it seems. In her amazon battle suit she looks like she had her left breast completely removed, when bathing in the lake she is suddenly well-endowed on both sides... actually, everywhere. Guroman soldiers look like straight from Asterix comics (you Americans probably don't know this series. Sadly, I don't know if there's any equivalent in the US for it), making them a bit too laughable to be taken seriously as an oppressive, invading force. And that fire dragon... well, I assume that one was SUPPOSED to look comical.
The characters... I may have hinted at it, but for the most part, they cannot be taken seriously. Probably the biggest offender is Prime Rose again, inexplicably falling in love with the male hero despite just seeing her previous boyfriend, whom she risked her life for just before, killed. I don't feel like using derogatory terms, but really, you can't help but think "slut". Which she maybe isn't, but somehow comes across as. Also, most of the characters have virtually no role to play, they are just there as tools or as stepping stones. Not everything is due to a short runtime though, the writing is to blame as well.
Speaking of the writing, it's... okay. It doesn't particuarly stand out, but it's not really bad either. It does have one major flaw, though: while nearly everything is believable or can be accepted, bodies turning into stone just doesn't come across as believable or acceptable. There is just no basis for it except "magic" and magic clearly does not fit in the world of Prime Rose. Thankfully, it doesn't serve much purpose.
Overall, I wouldn't recommend this anime to anyone but die-hard Tezuka maniacs. There is just no enjoyment to be gained from it and it doesn't have much value either. Children may like it, but only if they have nothing else to choose from.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Oct 1, 2013
When you make an anti-war movie, you must incorporate a few things. First of all, your message should always be "war is super bad, never think otherwise". Second, you have to have at least one enemy attack, a bombing, if possible. Third, you need to show people suffering (this is really just for getting the message of "war is super bad, never think otherwise" across). And fourth, there has to be hope for the future and the best scene to show that is homecoming. All you need now is to construct a story around all this and you're set.
Constructing a story is what "The Glass
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Rabbit" has tried as well. Sadly, it did not really succeed.
The movie is about Toshiko, the daughter of a skillful guy who runs a glass factory. He is doing quite well, the family is obviously happy, but war is already present in their lives. And when it finally breaks out, Toshiko is thrown into a series of trials she has to overcome - or, well, a series of deaths and betrayals.
The sad thing is, the first half of the movie is actually quite decent. It's not so much about Toshiko but rather about the whole family trying to cope with the harsh reality of war and persevering somehow. The have to cut expenses, they have to move around, they have to separate a few times, they have to continue their life just like before - all that has made me somehow interested in what would happen next and there are only a few things to complain about, but then the movie starts to get worse.
It does so right at the point where the focus shifts from the family in general to Toshiko in particular and her long path of "suffering". With each death you notice more how it's all about shock value, as if there wasn't enough suffering before. There are some points in the movie where it basically says "Look, it's war, we need to be as cruel as we can get". Near the end the movie seems to forget all that made it watchable (much like it forgot the titular glass rabbit) and when the war finally comes to an end it's not only a sign of relief for the characters but for the viewers as well.
There isn't much to say otherwise. This is neither a new nor a big productoin, so you won't notice both the animation (which there isn't much of) and the sound. The characters are pretty one-dimensional for the most part, as you may have already guessed. Many of them are background characters anyway, serving either the purpose of dying or bullying Toshiko. Really, the only thing of actual worth in this movie is its historical value. Which there isn't much of, unfortunately. Oh, and the movie gets the message of "war is super bad, never think otherwise" across.
To sum things up, this is not a good movie. Your time is better spent with things like "Grave of the Fireflies" which may be not a good movie as well, but at least it's of actual value, since the movie and the novel it was based on were born of survivor's guilt. Or you can even watch "Chocchan's Story" instead which is not good as well, but at least it shows people who were relatively well-off during the war and didn't suffer horrible tragedies. This fact alone is pretty refreshing.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Mar 19, 2013
Kenji Miyazawa is known for writing children's books and it shows here. This is basically a movie for children, only a bit more challenging.
It's mostly apparent in the main character, Budori. He would be an ideal role model for a child: caring for his family, studying diligently, even WANTING to study, working hard and persevering no matter what. Making a heroic decision in the end only tops it off.
Except he isn't. He shows no attachment to literally anyone but his little sister. Not even his parents, let alone his employers and teachers. Earlier I wrote that he cares for his family - well, technically, he
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does; after all, his sister is part of his family. But that's really the only person he truly cares about. Not that he isn't interacting with everyone else; in fact, he is clearly distraught when both parents leave the house, but he doesn't even remember them afterwards. Now imagine the fate of those he only had brief encounters with.
On one hand, this can be seen as a good thing, we really don't need yet another idealized main character. On the other hand, this is the biggest flaw of this movie. Since there's little interaction and no attachment to any character, most of them feel like tools for making Budori spew out some lines or make some actions and once they did their job, they are disposed of, so quickly that there isn't enough time for the viewer to care about them. This is not a good way to draw attention.
Speaking of drawing attention, the overall story is not really good at it, either. It IS solid and rather well-written, but not really much is going on here and it feels almost pointless. Don't get me wrong, I didn't dislike the story, but I didn't really like it either. There is a boy who went through natural and personal disasters in his childhood days, managed to persevere, went to the big city, studied and saved many people from another disaster. And life goes on like it always did and always will. That's one part. Another part is the inner world of Budori, his development, his role in this world and his trying to come to terms with life and death. I personally feel this part is better done, because it actually makes use of the medium and relies heavily on symbolism, art and animation.
And this is where the movie truly shines. One can literally see the amount of work that went into the art and it's really amazing. The first half of the movie is set in the countryside, so we get to see some really beautiful landscape panoramas. The second half is the city of Ihatov and while the art still remains beautiful it isn't nearly as amazing. Besides, there's quite some CGI in Ihatov, it's quite bad and does stand out because of that. Also, it feels like the movie tries really hard to be a Ghibli - but there's more to Ghibli than just the landscape art. Nevertheless, it's all really impressive. Is the mood happy and complacent? It shows in the art. Is there something new that just came to life and shines brightly? It shows in the art. Is something deteriorating over time? It shows in the art.
It's even more impressive when the movie deals with Budori's inner world. Here everything becomes surreal and it's hard to tell whether the events should be taken literally, whether it's just a metaphor for something or whether it's simply embellishment. It's even harder to tell whether those scenes depict actual events or whether it's all in Budori's head. Those scenes were what I enjoyed most in this movie.
To sum it up, while this movie isn't outstanding, it's really solid and does have some value. Do show it to your children but be prepared for their complaints when their attention starts wavering.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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