Anime: Hoshi o Ou Kodomo 4d4fw

So this girl sees these monsters and is saved by a boy from the underworld. And she goes there, and she is chased around by some freaks and… WHAT IS THE POINT IN ALL THIS?
Disappointed! This is how I felt after I finished this film. Wanna know why?

1) The director
Makoto Shinkai is quite famous for his tragic romantic tales. Voices of a Distant Star and 5cm per Second are amongst the few romances even an uncaring bastard like myself enjoyed. So it was reasonable to expect yet another film regarding a tragic romance. Because, duh, Shinkai never made anything else. And to my amazement he now did. And it wasn’t good.

2) The studio
Studio Comix Wave is new but has made an impressive work so far. The thing is, with this film it feels like it is trying to rip-off Ghibli Studio instead of trying to find an identity or style of its own. I had to check three times to make sure this WASN’T a Ghibli production. I mean, IT IS SO ALIKE! In my mind there can be only one Ghibli and now I see someone trying to become its copycat? This is an outrage! Yes, pretty damn good visuals and soundtrack, but they all look and sound like a damn robbery from one of the most famous studios around. I couldn’t enjoy the overall film because of it.

3) The story
You think the similarities to Ghibli stop only at the visuals? Heck no, the story itself was a mix of various Ghibli works. At the same time it is hardly as captivating as those films, with far less context, complexity, interesting situations, and plot. So not only it is an imitation, it is also a bad one. If you just sit back and think of the plot of the film you will immediately realize how linear, simple, and eventually forgettable it was.

4) The characters
Not even one of the characters in the film is memorable or interesting. They all play their generic roles to the fullest yet none of them manage to stand out from their counterparts in a myriad other children fantasy stories. To the most part all you see is the heroine being chased around by monsters and being saved by a handsome fighter from a magical land. It couldn’t get any cornier. I saw fifty times more in the far similar premise of Escaflowne, where everyone there was far more complicating than he appeared to be at first. And in case you try to excuse it by saying this is a movie and not a series to demand drastic character development, then I will reply that in this case a movie should not be full of useless characters. Yet look at this, there is a whole school filled with children, a whole village filled with people, a WHOLE MAGICAL LAND FILLED WITH CREATURES and you get NOTHING out of them. They are just standing there, irrelevant to the main plot, and boring since they are not doing anything.

5) The motivation
There is no clear goal for most of the movie. The characters are running around almost apathetically, without really caring or making us care about whatever they want to accomplish. And even when they accomplish it, it feels hollow and pointless, without nothing interesting for you to about. There is absolutely no emotional engagement with whatever is going on in it.

6) Plausibility
Furthermore, the movie hardly tries to convince you of whatever happens. Monsters attack our world, the army attacks them with helicopters, and nobody in the surrounding areas besides the heroine takes notice of them. And then the movie ends and she returns and her mother has apparently popped in the story, and she keeps living her life like nothing matters. SO WHAT WAS THE POINT OF ALL THAT?

Although most viewers will probably just stare at the cool visuals and vote this a 9 or 10, I am a far harder to please man. I expect emotional engagement, development of the initial concept, some plot twist to be taken back for a few seconds, some characters who manage to escape their stereotype, something that doesn’t feel like a lesser rehash of older productions. Well I got none of the above in this one. It was hollow, boring, and made Makoto Shinkai to look like a failed Miyazaki wannabe when he always had his own style and identity. His specialty always was tragic romances, he was so good at it, he had no reason to stray off to something far more childish and stupid like this. Although he tried to pull of something similar here with the myth of Izanami and Izanagi, he failed completely to make it plausible and engaging. His previous works were all quite realistic to the most part, without silly magical powers to offer panacea to any problem encountered. But this? This is a stupid romantic fairy tale for little girls (yes, girls, not even boys) and one so generic that you will forget as soon as you watch the next generic fairy tale that comes along. Heck, watching a low-budget stupid Barbie 3D movie is more than enough to get over it!

COMPLETELY DISAPPOINTED! GO BACK TO REALISTIC ROMANCES SHINKAI! LEAVE BEHIND THESE STUPID MAGICAL LANDS! And above all DON’T TRY TO GROW A BEARD AND ACT LIKE MIYAZAKI! BE YOURSELF!

'Chiwa~

Before I begin, let me start off by saying I enjoyed Shinkai Makoto's first two movies to the point of getting blurays. I seriously enjoyed Kumo no Mukou, Yakusoku no Basho, and I LOVED Byousoku 5 Centimeter. I cried like a teenage drama queen watching a romance chick flick with a bad end, with a really kyun feeling. Before you ask, I'm a guy.

The thing that's done it for me in these two movies and his first OVA, Kanojou to Kanojou no Neko, was this sense of nostalgia, uniquely animated sequences, breathtaking vistas, a moving instrumental soundtrack, and a "setsunai" or "yuutsu" feeling. At the end of 5cm especially, I was heartbroken. To me, that movie is the epitome of Shinkai Makoto's works.

Character Designs
From this approach/perspective, I subjectively view his latest creation as a step backwards. The character designs reminded me a lot of Laputa or Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi. The character designs resembled nothing from his previous works. Had they been more unique, that would still have been welcome. Unfortunately, the designs fall into a Ghibli-resemblance. Sure, Ghibli is win, but Ghibli is and always will be. I feel that Shinkai's characters lost their identity from this light. Before you decide to rebuke me or disagree with me on this point, allow me to make a second point with regards to characters.

Characters
The cast wasn't huge, and it wasn't too small. However, none of the characters had any of the maturity that I've felt from previous movies. Sure, Asuna was mature for her age, but her easily accepting towards abnormal phenomena attitude felt Ghibli-borrowed. From a less opinionated approach, however, the characters were good in their own light. Shin's character was perhaps the least liked. His actions had no basis or explanation. So, to summarize this point, from a Shinkai perspective, they felt foreign and iffy. From a non-fanboy perspective, Morisaki and Asuna felt like awesome characters. I especially appreciated the ruthlesness of Morisaki for the sake of his wish, going to the point of doing what he does near the end of the movie. Shin was fail. Sorreh xD.

Art and Animation
The art felt like a step back for Shinkai. For a 2011 movie as well, it could have done better. However, this applies to the foreground. The backgrounds were breathtaking, no problem there. Finis Terra especially felt awe-inspiring. If i were to also include the art/animation of the weaponry involved, not only would I say, "Dude, they looked win," but I'd also say, "They looked realistic as hell." The gattling gun on the helicopter to what seems to be a UMP45 submachinegun, they all seemed identifiable and realstic. Except dat pistol!

Sound
Tenmon is on the scene with his fabulous sound. Without a doubt, it is indeed a great soundtrack. The timing and duration of the music corresponded well with the various scenes. The voice acting was great for all the characters as well. There seemed to be a few mismatched moments with Morisaki's displayed intensity and his voice's intensity, but that's just a personal feeling. There were no real issues in this department, and felt flawless.

Story
The real part of this review that one would read is perhaps right here. The story's theme is similar to Shinkai's previous works, dealing with farewells and partings. Definitely Shinkai-like. I especially loved when Asuna parted with Manna. That was perhaps the most beautiful moment for me, like a cluster bomb of Shinkai's emotionally-stirring direction. Unlike Kumo no Mukou, Yakusoku no Basho, this movie had a more predominant existence of fantasy. From a non-fanboy perspective, it is most certainly a good story. I cannot, however, come to give this a rating beyond perhaps a 7.5. There is a big reason for this. I felt that the ending only answered questions with regards to Asuna. As to what happens to Shin and Morisaki, there is no real conclusion. Morisaki was seen staying behind in Agartha seemingly, which raises several other questions in return. Or it could be that I'm still not capable of understanding anime movies from various perspectives. I personally don't feel like I lack the maturity, but opinions of self aren't always on the mark.

The execution of this movie was good. The "prologue" was given enough time, the link to Agartha was well developed, and it was quite an enjoyable ride, which is what a good story does. However, there were certain "holes" in the story, at least in my perception. One big example is how Morisaki knew which direction he must head in. To address any early answers from you viewers, that the Elder summoned Shin to inform him how a second clavis was present and headed to the Gate of Life and Death. How was Morisaki able to navigate his way to the Gate? No explanation was provided, which proved to be a small irritation for someone nitpicky like me. There was also no feeling of direct reference to the title. To begin with, if anyone was chasing anything, it was Morisaki, and he sure as hell wasn't a child. Asuna's reason for being in Agartha wasn't revealed until the very end, where she confronted and gave shape to her issues. While no direct resolution was seen to Asuna's plight, she had definitely matured, showing proof of a good story. Shin's development during this adventure moved away from a specific role to a shounen "Wtf am I doing?!" role.

Value
This movie, in my opinion, shouldn't be seen as a Shinkai film, but rather as a non-Shinkai film. I feel that if you approach this movie without knowing the director beforehand, or at least pretend, then you will love this film. For me personally, I was turned off completely to the point where I would have raged had the theme been different to a more happy scale. If anything, this is also a form of my complaints being given shape. It is a good movie to watch every once in a while with the family, but that's about it. I wouldn't personally watch this film repeatedly unless I'm marathoning Ghibli films.

Enjoyment
The first run is as good as it's gonna get. Unlike 5cm, you won't get any OMG moments that often. The first run is definitely going to be awesome, but that's it. After that, it's only a good movie if you're marathoning other movies in tandem with it like Toki wo Kakeru Shoujou (which, in my opinion, was considerably better with dealing with partings than this film). Still worth that first watch though. If I were to recommend it for anything, it'd be the first watch. As a "Shinkai Makoto Films 101: An Introduction to Shinkai Makoto and his Works" film, it would miss the mark. Hell, the title for category goes to Kanojou to Kanojou no Neko.

Conclusion
A beautiful (although paling in comparison to Shinkai's previos works) film on its own, with breathtaking vistas, very fluid animation, attention to detail, catchy characters, and an almost complete story. I would recommend this as a stand alone title for sure, but not as "Shinkai's third film dude must watch omgwtfwin." If you enjoyed Shinkai's heartwrenching movies, this may not be for you. Still worth a shot though.

I watched the New York premier of this movie at the New York Anime Festival on October 16, 2011. It was subtitled, I presume, by an official company, and was projected in 1080p or higher on a screen that was about 3/4 the size of a typical movie theater screen. Basically, it was huge.

Well, our director SHINKAI Makoto has a lot to live up to after the release of 5 Centimeters per Second... does he do it? The quick, to the point version is: he does, perhaps, but in a different way that is sure to appeal much more than 5cm to some, but in the process loses some other aspects of 5cm that appeal to others. Read on...

Art & Animation: 9.5
Well... it's amazing. Those who know Shinkai don't need me to tell them that these landscapes are beautiful; there is the utmost attention to detail: the movement of clouds behind the main character as she is talking, the way the whole scene appears to be moving and changing as in real life that many other anime lack is beautifully captured here. The mythical world of Agartha is beautifully executed and captures Shinkai's original concept. Characters are well drawn and consistent; animation is fluent throughout the movie. There is a nice balance between fast-moving and slow-moving scenes as well.
The only reason I dock .5 of a point is that during the ending song (credits), there is an animation of two characters walking off the screen... one disappears before he actually walks off about 1 second too quickly. But, it's in the credits after all.

Sound: 10
No, really. 10. There's absolutely no way the sound could be better for this movie. The BGM is again composed by Tenmon, who worked closely with Shinkai and his group to produce music that evokes the exact feel that the directors wanted. There are no problems there, of course, but the most important aspect of the sound in this movie is, again, the attention to detail. For example, when Asuna (our main character) runs across her house, one can distinctly hear her footsteps on the wooden floor; the brain automatically establishes that she must be running on specifically a wooden floor just because of the way the sounds emulate real life. The sound effects are not overdone or gaudy, and often music is given a complementary role that is balanced with the amazing visuals presented.

Story: 9
What, 9! BLASPHEMY! But no, there's only a few reasons that this story falls short of a 10. The first is the rather contrived nature of Asuna's original reasoning for journeying into Agartha. Second, there are some loose ends that are really never tied up, or are briefly brushed over and left as such even after the movie has concluded, such as the organizations that know of Agartha's presence.
Onto the amazing parts! The story has very nice, logical flow. Never are there strange timeskips or scenechanges that leave the viewer confused; likewise, most loose ends are tied up and even addressed early. Everything that the viewer sees is relevant and necessary; that is, there is no "fluff" in the story. Nor does there need to be, because the overall theme and impact are quite fantastic. The moral message is strong, and fits quite well with Shinkai's themes. He has successfully achieved his goal to bring out a sense that "Japan is now changing, with the earthquake and tsunami."
Additionally, Shinkai does a very good job of portraying a "world" as a whole, and having the viewer buy into it; this is explained in a bit more detail in the next section.

Character:9
Well, this really depends on how you define "character." I would take this to mean not only the staying power and impact of the characters themselves, but character development as well. In this sense, our main character Asuna isn't the focus; it is perhaps her teacher that has changed the most. Which is kind of strange, considering the premise of the movie. And although Asuna does indeed "change" somewhat, as I mentioned in the "Story" section, some of it could be seen as contrived, rather random, and in there just to give the story an overarching theme to go back to.
Regardless, the point that I was making before is that the way the characters are presented is very believable: the guardian gods, God himself, the dead, and the living, are all very vivid. The different creatures that inhabit the underworld, as well as those that inhabit Asuna's regular world, all give a sense of something that is epic in scale yet realistic in all the minor, but important details. Each "type" of creature serves a distinct purpose that is certainly appreciated and adds depth to the story.

Value:10
Well, I feel the value is definitely a ten. Ignoring the cost of BDs, which is typically irrelevant, the time spent on the movie (2 hours) is worth every second. Literally, it felt like such a longer movie (in a good way!) just because of the way Shinkai organizes and executes his work.

Enjoyment:9
I enjoyed this. A lot. Very much. I still like 5 Centimeters per Second better, but that's really personal preference. There is no reason to compare this to 5cm in any kind of "competition" manner; they both stand independently and truly have a different focus. As a work of art, this is something to truly be appreciated.

So what are you waiting for? Get it as soon as you can!