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Good themes, poor execution

Honestly, this was one of my most anticipated anime releases of the year after the little buzz that it gained sometimes in 2022. Unfortunately, the interesting premise and meaningful message of the film were not enough to make it a truly compelling story like its counterpart that also came out this year - Suzume.

Let's start with the positives. The movie had a really decent theme about cherishing what you already have instead of opting for a shortcut to gain what you want quickly. The most recent film in my memory that executed it well was Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. As ... for the main couple, the film did try to give them reasonable motives so the audience can get behind their actions.

However, unlike Puss in Boots, this film lacked the proper execution to really transmit its ideas and messages to the moviegoers. The first problem was with the runtime - 1h22m. Excluding the credits that's probably just a bit over an hour. That's at least 30-40 minutes short compared to other films of the same genre. As a result, a lot of the story threads and character conflicts were resolved in a matter of seconds without any slow time for the characters to process what was going on. As mentioned before, I understood the main characters (Anzu and Tono) motivations, but they literally explained their backstory within a few lines. A classic example of "show, don't tell". Both characters also have personal problems with their families, and the film could have explored a beautiful story them, but the film just kinda forgot about those story lines. What happened to Tono's dad? Has Anzu made up with her parents? How do their friends feel about all this? The ending was extremely rushed as well, with Tono making a difficult decision with very little hesitation like it was nothing, and it seemed to be happy ending. Okay, I'm going to spoil a bit about the ending now, so stop reading if you haven't seen the film or read the light novel.

So it was revealed in the end that Tono was in the tunnel for at least 10 years. How does he feel about all that time being gone (I know it was probably a few days for him, but that's not how a regular person would react when 10 years of their life was gone in a flash) How would he confront his father or friends after all these years? How would the public react when a man who's been gone for years just popped back put of nowhere? And as for Anzu, was she seriously hung up on a guy she knew for a month in over 10 years? Honestly, the ending probably aimed for a moment of satisfaction when the couple reunited, but it all felt shallow to me.

The animation was fine, but nothing exceptional. The voice acting felt underwhelming, and some of the insert music choices really put me off the scenes.

I haven't read the light novel yet, but I sure hope it is better than this film. I would not recommend seeing the movie in theaters (like I did). Wait for it to come out on streaming because I don't think it is worth getting to cinema to see this.

Honestly, for a Yoasobi song, this does exactly what you expected: a catchy beat, interesting chants and lyrics that perfectly captures the themes of the show.

However, when you consider the nature of Sousou Frieren, which is an anime that does not follow the usual fast-paced and excitement of its fellow fantasies and is more of a tranquil and slow journey like Violet Evergarden, the OP really feels out of place here. A rare case for Yoasobi as the band usually has perfect ops or eds for the respective anime (most recently Oshi no Ko or The Witch from Mercury). Compare that to the ED by ... milet, which suits the show way better than the OP.

All in all, while Yuusha is still a solid song and definitely something which can be jammed to, it is just not the right for the atmosphere of vibes of Sousou Frieren.

12 years after the success of Summer Wars, Mamoru Hosoda is finally back with another anime film set in a virtual world. There are many reasons to be hyped for this movie: Hosoda has an Oscar nomination for his last film Mirai, the fact that the film received a 14-minute standing ovation at the Cannnes Film Festival and of course, me being a fan of his films. And while Belle was not what I expected, I had a great time in theaters nonetheless.

The first thing I have to mention is the animation and visuals. I do not know how the director keeps doing it, but ... his films keep looking better and better through the years. Right from the first second the film has already captivated me with its visuals. "U" - the virtual in the film was beatifully constructed and was brimming with vibrant colors and dynamic lighting, every single "AS" (user's avatars) is so uniquely designed that it makes "U" feels like a living and breathing world. The CG of the film looks fantastic. A lot of times CG can be quite distracting or sometimes astrocious (looking at you, Berserk) in anime, but this is not the case for Belle. I also love the idea that the scenes in the real world are hand-drawn while the "U" scenes are full CG. The CG really helped the virtual world feels unique and stand out, which serves the point of the film : You cannot change reality in the real world, but you can start over in U" (sorry if I messed up the line).

The music of the film is also incredible. Not only do the songs sound great, but they also convey the right emotions and thoughts of the characters as we progress through the story. While the score did not have any standout or memorable tracks, it was fitting to the film.

As for the story and characters, I felt like this film tried to juggle too many different storylines and themes at once but never really nailed any aspects. While the stories of the film are great on their own, putting them all together may not have been the best idea. There are moments when the film felt like a coming-of-age story, a love story, a story of broken souls trying to heal themselves or even domestic violence. For me it felt like Belle did not know what kind of movie it wanted to be. As for the characters, while they are wholesome and each has a unique personality, none of them are really emotionally complex (maybe except the main character Suzu) or are ones we can truly empathize with. Most of Mamoru Hosoda's previous films usually tackled on major theme, like family in Wolf Children or a coming-of-age story like The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. But this also shows that Hosoda is trying something new, and I always love it when a storyteller breaks from his/her usual motifs and experiment with new ideas and stories. And although it was not smoothly executed for Belle, I really hope he keeps taking on new challenges for his future films.

In general, while Belle could not quite reach the heights of Summer Wars or Wolf Children, it was still an incredible theater experience and like Mirai, once again shows that Mamoru Hosoda still has many ambitious stories he wants to tell, and I cannot wait to see what he does next.