Somber Ghibli film about loss and accepting new families that I liked but didn’t love. The joy of Ghibli usually comes from the grounded struggles in fantastical worlds. Because the basis for the world is set in WW2 Japan, it does feel somewhat foreign from the outset, so the introduction to the fantasy feels like they are building 2 worlds in a single movie and theres not enough time to really appreciate both at the same time. The characters are where the movie really shine though, with the main character being a stoic, stalwart boy trying to become a man in the context of a world filled with adults telling him to be a kid.
Recommend for anyone who would watch the movie anyway, and for people who like animation but not anime.
As with all Studio Ghibli films, the animation/visuals are eye-catching, and like most, there is some uniqueness/weirdness as we encounter one unearthly creature after another, but the whole movie doesn't come together. From what I've seen from the studio, Grave of the Fireflies is my favourite and the opening gave off a similar feeling to that film, so I was excited. Overall though, the pacing and character development isn't perfect, and I found that the objective of the character didn't completely gel with the endgame.
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