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Jan 13, 2021
Well, since people that hated it insist on insulting the ones that liked it (the great majority, BTW) , let me do the same:
People that didn't like Howl's Moving Castle are really emotionally and intellectually stunted.
They want "plot exposition" in the form of people TALKING about "what's happening" and "EXPLAINING" thus to the audience.
They are too dull to understand that in a magical world, these people are USED to magic being a common component of daily life and don't have to come and explain the audience "ah yes the spell works here and like that and it was invented in 1436 by a mad wizard
...
blah blah yadi yada and is broken by..."
No, much like you don't explain cell phones or what Android or Windows is to your classmates, wizards don't need to explain what spells do, specially to eachother. Most of the characters are magical/initiates and the rest are aware of magic so there is nothing to "explain"; this is immersion.
Furthermore a maxim in movies (and writing) is known as "SHOW, DON'T TELL". You know what would REALLY ruin the pacing of the movie? 20 minutes of exposition after anything new happens!
So either you decide to intuitively go with the flow of the world, or you decide to think "Well I wasn't explained this in a dialog adressed to me whcih carefully lays out what happened in siumple words, so I refuse to enjoy it!". If you are in the second group, in my eyes you are frankly stupid. There is no way around it.
Howl's Moving Castle, much as the castle itself, is set in a living, breathing, self-contained world which in many ways is different to our own. If you are unable to imagine that, then it's your problem, not the movie's.
I did think the last 15-20 minutes were rushed towards the conclusion (the "safehouse" period is too short for my liking; they destroy the new house nearly as soon as it is made), but that is not a failure of "explanation", just of pacing, and it doesn't run through most of the film where pacing works normally and events unfold naturally enough.
The war portions are very spot on in also showing the horrors of carpet bombing, the draft, and so forth. While the setting seems semi-westernized some scenes are made pretty much to reflect Japan's feeling in the home island during WW2: A "glorious send-off" to their conquering sea vessels while people believe the propaganda, then see them trashed, then they get firebombed (as USA did). So it not only has a romantic message, it also has a good and realistic ideological anti-war message, which you can see is heart-felt from cultural experiences and not just for virtue signaling.
***
Plus, you see the same reviewers that trash this film... you go to their profile and have like 10/10 rating of slice-of-life comedies , or zombie apocalypse survival stupidity (probably highly rated only by zombies, as well). So I woudn't say these are the most discerning of reviewers one can find.
***
Anyways, I would have given this a 9/10 representing something that can improve in a few minor areas, but to counteract the naysayers, I will have to give it a 10/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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May 26, 2020
SUMMATION/REVIEW (contains spoilers)
It was quite an experience. It manages to do in a single season what most animes don't do in 20 or more (Naruto, One Piece, etc...) - And I enjoyed the sci-fi exagerations such as probability altering missiles, attacking past and future at the same time, alternate universes materializing as you think on them (I guess that gave it the "GAINAX touch"), etc. From a boy and his "bro" in an underground village to defeating an entire Universe and making contact with other lifeforms in the galaxy in just 26 ep. while keeping continuity; you can't say it wasn't quite a daring project...
...
and, they kept you engaged all the way with the evolving storyline, except maybe some weak episodes at the beggining such as bathouse episode and such.
All in all, this is a really powerful show that takes its message to the max and prides itself on sticking to its rule to break all other rules (including explicitely the laws of physics and the rulers of the universe) with willpower alone. In a sense, it is the distillation of how anime works. And that makes it "worthy of literary analysis" alone as someone said.
It was interesting that there were no actually evil enemies, all antagonists were "right" or at least acting according to their context (the last in the case of minions like beastmen, the first in the case of the intellectual and personal motivations of the "enemies" such as Lordgenome, Anti-spirals, Rossiu, etc.) - they have moivations "at least as good as the protagonists", the show takes a side but it's explicit about it being solely for an emotional reason and not because of logic.
Most will tell you there are "two parts" on this anime. Believe it or not, this is mostly wrong. There are two main time periods and two "final bosses", but there are actually four parts by design as evidenced by title cards - one 8 episodes, then one 7 episodes, then one 6 episodes, then one 5 episodes (excluding recap), which goes right with the Drill theme (it becomes smaller as it reaches the "top"). Each one is themed on a character (Kamina, Nia, Rossiu, Simon, in that order). Too bad Yoko's development (a promising strong female lead) was stunted by the introduction of Nia which doesn't have substance or development as a character (other than "posession" and going back), but oh well. Each of the parts differs in cast, setting and tone; first a traveling band of plucky friends fighting mecha to mecha, then a revolutionary battleship crew fighting armies, then a city government, and finally a giant battleship/robot "IN SPACE!!" fighting godlike beings. As you can see, each of these stages has a distinct look and feel, as well as emotional appeal, and it is likely you will prefer some over others; however, they all work a part to deliver the ultimate message of the show and drive its pacing. To me, part 2 is the weakest because of the Nia stuff (specially the mismanagement of the loss of Kamina she causes and how that would affect and tense Yoko and Simon's relationship), how the beastmen generals don't seem to pose a serious threat most time (specially at the end), etc. ; Yet the other arcs each had their own strenghts and even that one had its enjoyments (such as that the battleship combat and jokes are really well done and that the enemy designs are creative after all).
* People complaining that "the science is not plausible" didn't get the memo of the series that was there right from episode 1... "kick logic to the curve and do the impossible". To keep in mind "but that's impossible" as your thought through the total of the series will of course bring your enjoyment and understanding down to zero and you shoudn't watch it at all with that mindset.
The anime is adamant about its premise and everything follows from it: Get in a mecha and overthrow the powers that be with fighting spirit. If you disagree with that, there is no more point on watching it - It would be like watching a light romantic comedy when you hate light romantic comedies (but inverted).
Also, it is hard to find anime which have revolutionary themes that aren't subverted or parodied.
Only give it a 9 because some things could have been done better (such as skipping pointless "fanservice" such as the bathhouse episode and putting in more early development for secondary characters), but truly it is exceptional to have something this inspiring and which isn't dragged out or entirely predictable (despite being very true to its premises, the story does have some pretty heavy unexpected plot twists and devices for a first time viewer).
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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