Napping Princess

>Mild spoilers< Story [9/10] The story of Hirune Hime was unique and delivered in a respectable manner; not too overly confusing and paced well enough for the viewer to start connecting points after a certain time. The ending isn't particularly ambiguous in my view (the Collosus could be human-operated technology/resilience while "magic" is the advent of automation). My only major gripes with the story and its transitions is Morio immediately accepting the situation and barely questioning anything and Kokone's great escape being a bit awkward. Art [9/10] *The point I enjoyed most about the movie. The artstyle here isn't your standard anime style of drawing characters, I felt that the charactershad a bit of detail sacrificed (shadow and lighting) and gained at the same time with more facial features. Scenery is extremely well done and detailed here, I appreciated it all the way throughout the movie. The final ending pan gave a bit of life into the town they live in, which is a really nice touch. Sound [7/10] It's good, not much to say here as it's just good and borderline average, or not memorable as I heard it. I don't think it detracts from the movie at all and the OST does its job sufficiently in setting some tone. I think some of the VAs, mainly Kokone and more noticeable with Morio, a bit raw with their performances, but it was still good. I didn't want to not hear them talk, it was more along the lines of noticing some small thing about their voices. Character [6/10] This is a really story/plot heavy movie, so character development and exposition is low. Sure you get to know everyone is by the end, but their motivations to act are kind of generic or not really memorable; slight exceptions can be made for Momotaro. With that being said, you don't really grow to dislike or like much of the cast because of how little you know or relate to them. Enjoyment [9/10] The story and art are the most memorable parts, I just personally found them to be very appealing. Really liked the way the two worlds combined in the end, the fantastic art/visuals reinforced the imagery of everything. I wouldn't mind rewatching; this story lends itself well to rewatches given that not everything's explicit to the viewer. I don't think everyone will enjoy this, not everyone's interpretation of the story will be the same and thus the conclusion they draw may lead them to believe it wasn't that good. However, I think it's worth a watch for most people as it's trying something different.

There are quite a few widely accepted things in anime capable of turning me away completely from it instantly. Cheap, pointless fanservice, stale dialogue or anime tropes that just won't die - the list is large. These things are usually strewn across the majority of titles, even the ones I like. As a result, however, I started gravitating towards the titles like the Napping Princess, which can definitely brag as an original piece of work that has at least some heart and soul put into it, rather than following a formula so many have tried, and so few have nailed. But Napping Princess reminded me ofone crucial thing that is much worse, way more damaging than the average formulaic approach that proves to, at the very least, entertain me for a few hours. What that might be, you ask? Napping Princess is bland as fuck. It is truly amazing how a relatively simple but intrinsically interesting setting this movie has, can end up with a plot both convoluted and so very empty. Not to say I didn't enjoy it at all - but by the end of the movie you are left with so many loose ends that you can't possibly feel satisfied neither with its resolution nor with its setting. I had to begin to wonder - how is this possible? The animation is nice and fluid. The soundtrack, I understand, can be engaging, even though I personally found it occasionally jarring. The setting is, again, interesting enough to get invested. But then you realize that's all there is. There is the plot, the music, and the looks... and no solid theme to explore. The movie, in fact, showers you with themes... themes that never get a chance to shine. A car making millionaire that chases profit? Resolved with no input. A relationship between a girl and her mother, whom she only know though her father's stories is set up to be a huge plot element, only to never be properly addressed or discussed by the end. A father, clearly distanced from his daughter, and traumatized by the events of his life... never gets a closure. There is a borderline sentient self-driving vehicle that gets a heroic moment for no reason besides its name, without its role being properly presented to the audience. I mean you can understand its role, by the end... you just end up wondering, 'when the hell was that established?' ... So who the hell is the protagonist in here? The girl who carries that title could easily pass it around to either her friend, her father, or even the vehicle she drives, and the story wouldn't lose nor gain anything because everything about it was bland. In conclusion, you could argue that the movie is pretty to look at. It has an occasional funny or interesting scene. I would even argue it got fun for a minute or two. But it was bland, and nothing can save a feature that doesn't dare to go deep enough into a single one of its several themes. ... As an afterthought, the film should go by it's secondary title of 'The Story of the Unknown Me'; the protagonist indeed remains sadly unexplored and unknown, and the only Napping Princess during the time I watched this movie, turned out to be me.

This movie has just been released in my country. Its screen name in my country is translated "Decoding the dreams". Knowing that shouldn't judge a book by its cover but I didn't expect much about this movie in the first place. The best thing of this film is its beautiful visual (but not that breathtaking). Mysterious, adventurous, fantasy, are what I can say about its genre. Sounds like a Ghibli movie but I considered much worse. The concept of this movie reminds a lot about Steamboy (the dream of automation) and Paprika (dreams - reality blending). I have to say the story is its ultimate weakness. Ittends to be confusing, mysterious but there are too many plot holes and tons of details that make me wonder: "What is it for ?", "Why is it so cringy ?". Ehhh....and the mecha parts....I don't have a word to say =.= . In conclusion, the story is quite childish for me but at the same time it is filled with symbolic images which makes it's hard to understand what's going on for kids. The music was good but not that outstanding (8/10). So far, my most favorite ost from anime movies are from Kimi no nawa and Mononoke princess. Finally, I have a huge impression on Kokone, the main character. That's another bright point of this movie. Overall rating: 6/10