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Belle (New anime from Mamoru Hosoda - Summer Wars, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time etc)

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    #2
    johnny_ultimate
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 29,094 CMod ✭✭✭✭johnny_ultimate


    I saw it a few months ago and it's pretty solid - I don't think it reaches the peaks of Summer Wars or Wolf Children, but it's a step up from Mirai IMO. It's very similar to Summer Wars in terms of basic setup though.

    It's all a bit messy and some of its concepts incoherent, but it's big, warm and beautifully animated in the way Hosoda's films are. There's also an extended scene in a train station that's an absolute masterclass in animated comedy.



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    #3
    TheIrishGrover
    Registered Users Posts: 5,970 ✭✭✭TheIrishGrover


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118472840#Comment_118472840

    Yeah, Summer Wars is fantastic. Obviously the scenes in the metaverse looked spectacular but, for me, it was all about the dynamics of the family and the little touches (from the little touches like the kids swaying in the car as they are stuck to their screens to the kids running around naked after a bath (to the display of their mothers) to that card game). That and for giving us that "murimurimurimurimuri" for nononononono. God, Summer Wars was 12 years ago.

    I'm also a fan of TGWLTT. Loved the relationship between the main trio. Really struck as pretty authentic. Mirai, yeah, was OK. Wasn't gone on it totally.



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    #4
    johnny_ultimate
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 29,094 CMod ✭✭✭✭johnny_ultimate


    Girl Who Leapt Through Time was one I couldn’t quite warm to, although haven’t seen it in quite a while now. I’m excited that the original live action film seems to be coming out on Blu Ray later in the year - one I’ve been wanting to watch for years (it’s from the director of Hausu), and it’ll be a good excuse to revisit Hosoda’s take.

    Summer Wars in contrast m has only grown on me as the years have gone on. It’s definitely that Ozu-style family drama that keeps it focused alongside all the wild sci-fi stuff. And it was the game that convinced me to learn to actually play Koi-koi :)

    Wolf Children is his definite masterpiece for me, and one of the great animated films of the new century. Boy & The Beast is pretty great too, although the two subsequent films haven’t quite hit in the same way for me despite there being lots to like.



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    #5
    TheIrishGrover
    Registered Users Posts: 5,970 ✭✭✭TheIrishGrover


    I must give Wolf Children another watch. And Boy and The Beast. I have only watched them the once and that was some time ago. I think I might have been slightly put off by the tone shift compared to Summer Wars and TGWLTT so am looking forward to checking this out again.



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    #6
    TheIrishGrover
    Registered Users Posts: 5,970 ✭✭✭TheIrishGrover


    FYI: This is playing on Imax on Blanch today 02/02/22 @ 16:45 and 19:45. Dubbed (No date for subbed unfortunately)



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    #7
    TheIrishGrover
    Registered Users Posts: 5,970 ✭✭✭TheIrishGrover


    Well that was enjoyable. Yeah, not as good as Summer Wars or TGWLTT but a nice movie. Of course it looked beautiful. Loved the difference in animation between real world and online: Especially mouth movements. Real World was "Standard" type facial animation whereas online was more western-styled (While still somehow being anime style).

    And yes, the station scene is absolute comedy GOLD.



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    #8
    santana75
    Registered Users Posts: 1,299 ✭✭✭santana75


    I saw this today having never seen the other films mentioned in the comments above......I loved it. It is genuinely moving and sincere even if the dialogue is a little ropey at times.



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    #9
    pixelburp
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 35,941 CMod ✭✭✭✭pixelburp


    Caught a look at this and speaking as someone who doesn't generally follow or watch Japanese anime (beyond the mandatory "coffee table" ones like Akira), I enjoyed this immensely.

    A heartfelt tale that kept making me want to call it a better, smarter version of Ready Player One: a world of digital escape and expressing your true self through an online avatar - without the suffocation of idolising pop-culture like a religious cult. The themes of bullying and online harassment gave the story a depth beyond the obvious Beauty and the Beast structure.

    The 3rd acts swerve into serious drama was a little jarring, while the resolution of it more than a little pat, but didn't destroy the experience either.



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