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Pandora to Akubi is a nostalgia-driven “down the rabbit hole” type of adventure action comedy movie that packs a lot of punch into less than an hour of runtime.

Pandora is a cute travelling witch voiced by the ever adorable Ogura Yui and Akubi is an incompetent-but-eager genki genie-themed character voiced skillfully by the relatively unknown Amaki Sally. The highlight of this entire movie by far is these 2 characters optimism and positive attitude as they explore. You will smile and laugh along with these cuties as they unravel the mysteries of chaotic worlds and meet zany characters. If you are looking for some serious drama ... you are looking in the wrong place as most of the conflicts that arise in this movie are resolved in fun and simplistic ways that can fit cleanly into the short runtime with the typical anime theme of the “power of friendship” prevailing. After Pandora & Akubi resolve one conflict they are eager to jump into the next world and keep the fast paced action up.

One of the main appeals for an older audience that may be watching this movie with their kids is the nostalgia-driven elements. The movie features dozens of characters from Tatsunoko's long and storied history of producing popular anime since the 1960s. Pandora and Akubi find themselves interacting with characters from Speed Racer (1967), Yatterman (1977), and Gatchaman (1972). As an ignorant westerner born decades after these series were popular this was not a major appeal for me. However I still feel a sort of nostalgia via proxy. I can tell these characters are old and beloved and that the creators are re-imagining them in a new context. This element of the movie as a sort of ultimate crossover between Tatsunoko franchises is a welcome addition for sure although from my perspective I would not mind a sequel featuring the main duo setting off on brand new adventures that don't need to crutch on existing IPs.

Lastly I just want to comment on the art and animation aspect. The show is extremely colourful and the animation is bouncy and fluid. Overall the art and animation highlights an upbeat and optimistic attitude that the characters carry. Paired with the fun original opening and ending songs, the fundamentals are all here for an aesthetically pleasing experience.

Not every series needs a conclusion. This is especially true for a series that is built on episodic gag comedy and that has a gimmick of showing the main girl's panties every episode. This type of show did not win over fans with complex storytelling or really any sort of substantial drama whatsoever, so it's quite puzzling why the creators felt that such a dramatic finale was necessarily.

If you're reading this review I assume that you're familiar with the 2014 TV series adaptation of Majimoji Rurumo. In that series you should note the plot point that states that Kouta's life will end when his contract ... with Rurumo expires. This was a relatively minor plot point in the TV series and was mostly ignored in favour of comedic episodic plots. In the OVA this plot becomes front and centre and serves as the primary conflict of the story.

It's really hard to explain why I dislike this OVA so much without blatantly spoiling it. I'll try my best to not go into too many specifics. Basically the OVA ends status quo ante. In my opinion there is no significant difference between the status quo at the end of this OVA and at the end of the TV series. I understand that this point can be disputed but really any differences that exist are relatively minor compared to all the drama, intrigue, grieving, and despair that was expressed in these final 2 episodes. In my mind this makes the entire final 2 episodes hopelessly pointless.

I want to emphasize that I am not opposed to dramatic plots in comedy series in general. My big qualm with this finale just comes from the fact that nothing substantial results from all the drama. What was all this conflict for? Just to confirm an ending that didn't need confirming? None of the key elements of the conflict in this OVA are even hinted at in the series. The OVA heavily features a character that only appeared ONCE in the TV series and features many more characters that never appeared. This OVA just created a dramatic plot out of thin air and then dramatically and climatically resolved it, all just so we could go back to the same situation we were at at the end of Episode 12. What was the point of it all?

I just wanna conclude this review by saying that I understand the frustration of watching 12 episode anime series' that don't have proper conclusions. I've personally understood the feeling of wanting a series you love to have a proper conclusion. But if the conclusion you so desired is completely divorced from everything that made the series worthwhile in the first place, then is it really worth it? Some stories are better left unresolved.

All’s fair in love and war. It’s an expression that I’ve heard a million times. It’s so cliche that I kind of just take it for granted. The idea that anything is permissible if you do it for love seems fair enough on the surface. I never really questioned the validity of that cliche until I watched Happy Sugar Life. All’s fair in love and war feels like it should be right, but if I really think about it I start to run into some problems. What sort of actions truly are permissible in the pursuit or defence of love? If two loves are competing ... with each other then which one is just? Do the reasons or justifications behind someone’s feelings of love matter or is the love defensible regardless? Happy Sugar Life explores all these questions and it does so while maintaining a high entertainment value. The moral questions present themselves naturally in the show through the interesting and compelling actions of the characters and how they conflict with each other. The artstyle of the show helps to enhance the themes, especially the general feeling of dread that persists throughout. Overall, Happy Sugar Life puts my thoughts and feelings in conflict with each other. While I might think certain actions are universally wrong I end up feeling like they are justified in the specific events of the show because they are done for love.

Happy Sugar Life is about a pink haired psycho bitch (Satou) who abducts an innocent cute little blue haired girl (Shio) and basically uses her as an emotional support animal. On the surface it might seem like Satou and Shio have a shallow relationship but due to their past traumas we can see that isn’t the case. The relationship between Satou and Shio is by far the most emotionally substantive relationship that either one has ever experienced in their lives. Their relationship can accurately be described as “love.”

Satou has spent most of her life up until this point trying to find out what love is. Satou was orphaned as a child and ended up living with her Aunt who is an extreme pleasure seeker. Satou’s Aunt’s concept of love is very twisted and extreme. She pursues love through means of physical pleasure. This has lead to her becoming damaged, both physically and mentally. Satou’s Aunt’s pursuit of pleasure transcends any sort of common sense. She seeks physical love despite any cost, happily accepting beatings from random men.

Because of Satou’s upbringing she didn’t have a good understanding of love. Satou ended up spending a lot of time engaging in sexual relationships with men however she did not derive pleasure from these relationships. The relationships were very shallow and focused in physical pleasure only, this did not satisfy Satou’s deep rooted emotional needs. Satou tolerated these shallow sexual relationships because they offered her a place to spend the night at a time when she was trying to escape her Aunt’s putrid apartment. Satou was alone in the world and had to use her own wits to survive.

Unlike Satou, Shio could not survive on her own. Shio is an innocent cute young girl who is filled with boundless energy and a childlike optimism that is cheerful and inspiring. Despite all that, she was treated terribly by her mother. Shio’s Mother was heavily abused and the trauma from the abuse lead to her becoming extremely paranoid and eventually hostile towards Shio. She ended up abandoning Shio on the street, running away her responsibilities as a mother, leaving Shio alone to suffer.

On the night that Shio was abandoned she ended up being found by Satou. Satou took her in. Shio’s presence had a calming effect on Satou. Satou was experiencing a happiness like she never had before. Perhaps she didn’t yet realize that this feeling was love. Satou’s boyfriend at the time had never seen her so emotionally satisfied before. As his extreme jealousy of Shio boiled over, he attempted to strangle her to death. This lead to Satou committing her first murder.

Satou’s first murder was defensive in nature. It wasn’t premeditated, it was simply a spontaneous and necessary action to defend Shio. Unfortunately this murder would lead Satou down an irreversible path, where anything to protect Shio is permitted.

This is the point that the first episode starts at. Our first introduction of Satou and Shio is of them living alone together in secret. Satou goes to school during the day and works in the evening. She puts on a facade to get through the day. Shio stays home alone in their heavily locked apartment. When Satou returns at the end of the evening she is greeted warmly by Shio and they spend the night together. Satou is shown to be completely obsessed with Shio. Every action she takes is for the purposes of protecting her status quo situation with Shio. When other people threaten to interfere with Satou’s lifestyle, whether intentionally or not, she deals with them decisively. She uses various immoral tactics including deception, blackmail, and even murder. These tactics are relatively successful when dealing with isolated incidents. For example in the early episodes we see Satou successfully quashing love confessions, coercing her boss into actually paying her properly, and turning an attempted rapist into her loyal errand boy. Unfortunately these isolated successes don’t prepare her for what’s coming next; a focused effort from Shio’s brother (Asahi) to find Shio.

Asahi’s persistent search for Shio serves as Satou’s biggest threat. From Asahi’s perspective, Shio is a missing child. He searches tirelessly for her. He has a weak disposition and is often ignored, and even beaten, when trying to pass out flyers. Asahi presents the major moral conflict of the show. Is Satou right to be holding the custody of Shio? Through Asahi we see that there are people who care about Shio. It becomes clear that Satou is not in the right for hiding Shio from the rest of the world. Although Satou’s intentions to protect Shio might be good they are having unintended consequences.

Shio in not mentally stable. While Satou is out and about all day, Shio stays alone in their apartment. Shio is shown to have an unclear memory, distorted due to the trauma she faced. Shio is shown drawing an effigy of her mother on a closet wall despite repressing memories of her. Shio’s mental instability is heightened when she is alone.

Shio’s situation touches on some moral conflicts. Shio is clearly better off with Satou than she was with her mother. Satou provides a motherly presence for Shio that her actual mother did not. However Satou isn’t capable of healing all of Shio’s wounds, and there are even some that she doesn’t know about. Is Shio truly better off being with Satou? Would Shio be better off with her brother or some other caring guardian? Is Satou’s protection of Shio a selfless act to protect Shio or a selfish act to satisfy her own needs and desires? These aren’t easy questions to answer and that’s part of what makes them so compelling.

The moral conflicts of Happy Sugar Life are very interesting and they make me want to think. However, thoughtful and difficult moral questions do not make an anime good by themselves. The art of Happy Sugar Life add a lot to the emotional element of the show. Below, I will discuss some of my favourite motifs and symbols that forced me to feel.

One of the main visual motifs and symbols is the jar full of candy. This jar is shown in varying states. Sometimes the jar is full of candy and the characters eat from it. Sometimes the jar is spilled and the candy is absent. The symbolism here is obvious but powerful. The candy represents the positive emotions associated with the concept of a “Happy Sugar Life.” The jar represents the capacity to maintain these positive emotions. It’s important to note that the jar is made of fragile glass. The characters need to put in a concerted effort to maintain the wholeness of their jar. Even if the jar is completely empty and devoid of candy the presence of the jar itself is evidence that the capacity for a “Happy Sugar Life” still remains. Satou has to work to make sure her jar remains intact. She doesn’t want to end up like her Aunt, whose jar is described as being broken, which can help explain her bizarre behaviour and general insanity.

Every night Shio and Satou perform a wedding ceremony. Shio drapes a white bed sheet over Satou’s head as a veil and they recite matrimonial vows. This nightly ritual serves not only as an affirmation of their love for each other but also as an act of purification for Satou, who uses morally questionable tactics to maintain her status quo relationship with Shio on a daily basis.

During a particularly brutal and emotional scene, Satou ends up with scars on the back of her hand. The scars are left as the last attempted resistance of one of Satou’s murder victims. The scars on Satou’s hands serve as a reminder to Satou of the lengths that she has gone to to preserve her secret relationship with Shio. They are simultaneously a reminder of her regrets and of her conviction. The scars reminded me of the “damned spot” that stains the hands of Lady Macbeth. After feeling guilt and regret about her decision to commit murder, Lady Macbeth hallucinates a blood stain on her hands. She cries “Out, damned spot! Out, I say!” as she frantically tries and fails to wash the imaginary blood from her hands. Satou does not react to her hand’s scars in same way as Lady Macbeth but the similarity between the two remains. They both have an uncleanable permanent stain on their hands. One that appeared there due to their own decisions and actions. One that will haunt them for the rest of their lives.

Throughout the entire show the art is underscored by this unsettling and horrifying theme of contrast. When Satou and Shio are alone together the colours are bright and vivid. The presentation seems happy and carefree similar to something from a cute girls slice of life anime. But unlike those cute girls shows, the happy artstyle here is chilling due to the stark contrast with the rest of the show. The rest of the show has a very drab artstyle which is a lot more in line with the darker and more morbid themes of the show. This contrast between happy and carefree with drab and morbid is what makes the show horrifying for me. This contrast makes everything unsettling. The parts that are happy and carefree feel like they are on an island, surrounded by violent waves of morbidity. The happy parts feel like they don’t belong and they feel like they could be swallowed up by the ocean of morbidity at any time. The characters act in ways that corroborate this theme which helps to enhance its effect. Satou is cold and calculating when she is in the outside world but when she is alone in her apartment with Shio she is warm and loving and kind. A lot of Satou’s actions can be viewed as her protecting Shio from the cruel outside world.

Overall I think the art direction does a great job at complimenting the themes of the story. The symbols and motifs are quite potent and the general tone and style of the art helps accentuate dark themes and makes dramatic moments more impactful. The actual themes themselves delve into deep moral questions. The moral questions are not forced down the audience’s throat but rather they present themselves naturally through the interesting and compelling actions of the characters and the conflicts they have with each other.

Happy Sugar Life had an interesting effect on me. While individual actions by Satou are pretty clearly objectively reprehensible I still end up with this feeling like she isn’t wrong. This conflict between my thoughts and my feelings is at the core of why I like this show. This show took a character who does bad things for an arguably unjustifiable motive and it made me like her. Satou is damaged and flawed and I really think that I shouldn’t support her but I can’t help it. Her fight just feels right to me because she is fighting for love. So while “all’s fair in love and war” can be picked apart with logical arguments, it still just feels right. Maybe not everything is fair in the pursuit or defence of love but in Satou’s case I feel like she is good. And if I’ve learned anything from this show, it’s that good things are worth fighting for.

Mahou Shoujo Site is absurd but its also an argument against absurdity. If that sounds like I made a contradiction that's because it was intentional. The absurdity within the show is also intentional. The show uses contradictions as a tool to highlight absurdity. It uses contradictory imagery and the main character also acts in seemingly contradictory ways. Although the show contains absurdity it also rallies against absurdity by having its characters fight for meaning in a meaningless and cruel world. Despite being absurd, Mahou Shoujo Site has strong morals and a positive message.

Mahou Shoujo Site uses contradictory imagery masterfully to juxtapose negative and edgy concepts ... with positive and hopeful ideals. Take the main character for example, she is shown in the opening theme song aiming a gun at her head and then disappearing into thin air after pulling the trigger. This imagery suggests suicide, however upon further inspection we find that the gun is shaped like a heart and instead of causing death it causes the person getting shot at to teleport to a different location. The main character is capable of using this as a weapon but she instead chooses to use it as a tool to assist her comrades. Another character cuts her own wrists with a box cutter knife, however she uses the blood from her cuts to heal her friends. This turns the symbolism of wrist cutting from selfish and masturbatory to selfless and sacrificial. Using imagery that turn suicide and self-harm into positive things is a tremendously absurd contradiction. Showing traditionally bad things in a positive way like this highlights the goodness of the characters despite their cruel and unusual circumstances.

The imagery is great but the characters also act in seemingly contradictory ways. All of the magical girl characters are shown or implied to have been gifted their powers due to intense suffering they have faced. The logical course of action for most of these girls then, is to carry out acts of revenge. This is most clearly seen in the main character's best friend, Tsuyuno. Tsuyuno doesn't understand why our main character, Aya, refuses to carry out similar acts of revenge. Aya's refusal is the core contradiction of her character and is what leads to her success as a magical girl. Aya not only refuses to carry out revenge but she actually forgives and co-operates with her former bullies. Willingness to co-operate, even with those who wronged you or who have the ability to betray you, takes a lot of trust. Aya's trust may seem naive however it is continuously positively reinforced by the events that happen in the show thus cementing Aya's trusting and co-operative actions as a positive message.

Aya's actions also teach a positive message relating to free will. The villains want Aya to accept her fate as an unfortunate soul and use that negative viewpoint to spread more negativity. The bullying that lead to Aya being gifted her powers was senseless and cruel. She would be completely justified in reciprocating these actions. However, Aya believes that doing so will be an acceptance of her unfortunate fate. Aya rejects this fate and uses her own free will to shape her destiny. She does this by setting her own moral rules such as not killing or taking revenge.

While Aya is rejecting her unfortunate fate, Tsuyuno is so dedicated to revenge that she struggles to find any meaning in life beyond her own personal acts of vengeance. Tsuyuno is still shown to be a good person despite her negative outlook. Tsuyuno acts cold, calculating and pragmatic which is a foil to Aya's more naive and idealistic outlook. However, Tsuyuno has a strong moral framework and her hatred of bullying is what lead her to save Aya in the first place. Tsuyuno's conflict is compelling because she is a good person who is simply morally confused about how to find meaning in her life beyond her senseless and cruel suffering.

If the other characters are struggling with how to cope with their senseless and cruel suffering, then Aya's brother, Kaname, is the personification of that senselessness and cruelty. Kaname faces pressure from his father and from society to succeed academically. Instead of taking on the burden of this pressure himself, he vents his frustrations by abusing Aya. After Aya gains her magical abilities, Kaname loses the outlet for his angst. Kaname uses manipulation to gain power and control that he lacks in his own life by tricking one of the magical girls into giving him her power to command people. He uses his new power in insanely cruel ways. It's honestly quite difficult to understand Kaname's motivation as a character because he is just so absurd. Kaname's presence is a reminder that no matter what outlook you have on life that senselessness and cruelty will always still exist and that they need to be stamped out wherever they may be.

Using absurd imagery and storytelling to teach an overall positive message is a good thing. However at times the absurdity of this show can go too far. Some of the character's backstories are just so unbelievably absurd that they can border on becoming comedic. I could argue that being so absurd is actually an accomplishment but having a character's suffering be so ridiculous that it causes me to roll my eyes or laugh just does not give me a positive reinforcement as a viewer. The show also has some fetishistic imagery which limits its accessibility to more casual fans (assuming the edgy imagery didn't already do that). Some of the magical girls have man-slaves and Kaname is shown wearing women's underwear in one particularly absurd scene.

Overall, Mahou Shoujo Site has a very clear and simple message: be a good person and fight against evil. It also teaches to not let your suffering control your life and to use your free will to do good. These aren't unusual messages for a magical girl anime to have but the absurd way of delivering these messages is what sets Mahou Shoujo Site apart. Although Mahou Shoujo Site pushed the envelope as far as possible for the cruelty in the character's suffering and absurdity of some of the story events, they never diverted from the strong positive message at the foundation of the show. I really appreciate the decision to stick to a positive message because with such an absurd premise and events they could have easily went for a more nihilistic route in which case the show would just be edgy for the sake of edge.

In conclusion, contradictory imagery and seemingly contradictory character actions show that people can be good even in an absurd world, Tsuyuno's struggle to find meaning in life beyond avenging her own suffering is a great moral conflict, and Kaname's unbelievable cruelty is a reminder that evil will always persist and is worth fighting against. All of these aspects highlight a strong moral message however the show is also quite absurd. Lots of edgy and fetishistic imagery is used throughout the series and can be very off-putting for a lot of people. If you are put off by such images you should not watch this series. For everyone else, Mahou Shoujo Site presents an interesting and fun absurd story that has a strong, magical girl-based moral backing.

Mary and the Witch's Flower is on par with the Ghibli classics. As the first work by Studio Ponoc, Mary serves as the default flagship of the studio. As such, a lot of expectations were placed on this movie. Given Studio Ponoc's unproven nature, I wasn't sure what to expect from this movie. I feared that I would perhaps find this movie to be lacklustre and uninspired. Instead what I got was a film that rivals some of the best works from Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki.

Similar to my favourite Ghibli films, the best part of Mary's story is how her character grows throughout. ... The story starts with the protagonist Mary Smith, having recently moved, living with her Great Aunt as well as a maid and a gardener. Her attempts to help with housework and gardening go poorly and to add insult to injury she is teased by a local boy, named Peter, for her frizzy red hair. It's very apparent by the end of the movie that Mary has grown as a character. Originally she views herself as useless and talent-less, this is symbolized by her hatred of her own hair. When magical talent is thrust upon her by means of the titular Witch's Flower, she gains confidence. This gained confidence is perhaps undeserved as Mary only gained her powers by chance. Later, after her talent is stripped away by losing the Witch's Flower, is when she has to face her greatest challenges. Instead of relying on the gifted talent from the Witch's Flower, Mary has to overcome these challenges using her newfound confidence as well as other positive traits such as courage, ingenuity, and staying true to her convictions. Watching the main character gain confidence over the course of the movie is a super satisfying experience that is reminiscent of my favourite Ghibli protagonists; Chihiro from Spirited Away and Kiki from Kiki's Delivery Service. They both have similar character growth in their films.

If you want to teach a lesson in a children's film, it should not be too blatant. Any themes should flow seamlessly with the plot and should avoid becoming too much of a focus at the risk of making the film seem preachy. Mary and the Witch's Flower does not have this problem. The primary theme in Mary is probably the dangers of recklessly pursuing scientific advancement. Endor College's experiments on animals are shown as being reckless and unethical. Although these experiments use magic instead of science, it is still easy to make this comparison given that magic is compared to science in the film. Mumblechook, the school's headmistress, explains that electricity is just another form of magic and the character of Doctor Dee is very reminiscent of a mad scientist. It's important to note that the villains are not portrayed as maliciously evil but rather as misguided and with good intentions. The villains are very obsessive over the Witch's Flower which reminded me of Gollum's obsession with the One Ring in Lord of the Rings. As the villains are somewhat transformed by their obsession with the flower it becomes easy to empathize with them. It also adds some moral ambiguity to the story and themes which I prefer rather than having a blatantly unapologetic evil villain.

When commenting on his character design for Mary, Director Hiromasa Yonebayashi expressed that he wanted Mary's outward appearance to reflect her inner feelings. He achieved this by giving her large bushy eyebrows and a large mouth. Those physical characteristics are a great fit for her tomboyish personality. However the best and most obvious characteristic of Mary is her bright red messy hair. As stated earlier, Mary's hair acts somewhat as a metaphor for her own character growth. At the beginning of the film she hates her hair and the teasing it causes her. To mitigate this she ties her hair back with bows. Later, at Endor College, she is praised for her hair's uniqueness and rarity with Madame Mumblechook claiming red is the ideal hair colour for a witch. Near the end of the film she removes her bows and lets her hair down in a beautiful shot that is a metaphor for her confidence and conviction that she has gained. In addition to its symbolic qualities, Mary's hair is just really beautiful and nice to look at. Throughout the film I found my attention drawn to her hair. Some of the best moments in the film feature Mary's hair prominently. Mary's hatred of her own hair is absolutely adorable and reminded me of the protagonist from the classic novel Anne of Green Gables. It's very clear that Peter likes Mary's hair despite his teasing of her. The interactions between Peter and Mary are just adorable to watch. Peter also humorously compares Mary's appearance to a monkey. This joke is brought back later when an actual red haired monkey appears leading to one of the funniest moments in the movie.

The animation in Mary and the Witch's Flower is comparable to that of Ghibli's works. If you are not familiar, Ghibli is well known for its very high quality. Ghibli has a unique style and feel to their work that Mary and the Witch's Flower also possesses. The studio that made Mary and the Witch's Flower consists mostly of former Ghibli staff so the similarities are not unexpected. My favourite part of the animation are Mary's facial expressions and hair.

It is hard to find a weak-point in the film. Every frame seems to fulfill a purpose. Nothing in the film felt like a waste of space or time. In fact my biggest complaint about the film is that I wish it was longer. At the movie's current length it is absolutely packed with content. There is not a single dull moment. The limitations of the kid's movie format means that Mary and the Witch's Flower is probably at its maximum potential length as is. It certainly feels to me like content had to be cut to get down to the 102 minute run-time.

From black cats to broomsticks, everything you expect from a witch themed anime is present here. Despite the fact that I am an adult male and the target audience for witch themed things are young girls, I still find myself a huge fan of the witch aesthetic. Ghibli has done witches before with Kiki's Delivery Service and Endor College seems inspired by Little Witch Academia's Luna Nova or Harry Potter's Hogwarts, but whatever Mary and the Witch's Flower lacks in originality it makes up for in execution. The design of Endor College in particular is very whimsical and fantastical. Endor College is comparable to some of the best settings that Ghibli has created such as Laputa or the bathhouse from Spirited Away. On the other end of the spectrum the design of the real world is also very well done. The movie is set in rural England in the 1960s or 1970s and they did a wonderful job of recreating that. Mary's home has the aesthetic of a grandmother's house and it is just so well crafted that it fills me with nostalgia. The voice acting also goes a long way for the setting. All the characters speak with British accents. This movie may be better to watch dubbed due to the fact that the movie has a British setting and that the English language cast includes 2 Academy Award winners. Despite my praise for the English version, I haven't had the chance to watch the movie with the Japanese audio, so I'm not confident in saying which language this film is better to watch in definitively.

Overall the strongest thing I can say about Mary and the Witch's Flower is that it made me feel the same emotions that I've felt when watching my favourite works from Studio Ghibli. Mary's character growth is extremely satisfying to watch unfold and reminded me of my favourite Ghibli characters. The themes in the film are not overly preachy and I appreciated the moral ambiguity of the central conflict. Mary's character design is Ghibli-esque but her adorable yet fiery red hair sets her apart. The animation quality is excellent and really pleasurable to watch. The film is thoroughly entertaining throughout all 102 minutes. The worlds featured in the film are both whimsical and fantastical on one hand, while being down-to-earth, quaint, and nostalgic on the other. Studio Ponoc completely succeeded in making a film that contains all the things that made me fall in love with Studio Ghibli.