Even if Ephemere—the title being a French variant of the word ephemeral, meaning short-lived or temporary, which this represents via the alignment of two bodies within the solar system, a seemingly chance meeting, and a brief runtime—could use some more frames here and there to bolster the animation at some points, this is a rather gorgeous-looking piece of moe as fuck yuribait ass (or Uranus). The character designs look like candy, and their eyes might as well be gumdrops; seeing Uta's room brings to mind marmalade, and the rest of the settings look like a gingerbread house with heaps of icing or other confectionary. Thefilm is set to kawaii J-pop at a pivotal moment, fluffing up the dreamy cotton-candy atmosphere of the carnival.
True to a sugar rush, the story and characters seem a bit hollow, though (or maybe this is simply my distaste for air-headed influencer girls and you-go-girl soul searching). Uta is working a dull desk job and disaffected from other people, but she dabbles in creating holographic displays. She patiently waits for some would-be senpai to notice her and shower her with attention and compliments because she has no confidence in herself. The influencer, Paula, takes that role:
"No one gets me. I'm so special and unique. Look at my hologram screensaver with whales and planets and shit floating around." "Teehee, I'm an influencer and soooooo cute, lol. I came to tell you I love your Instagram photos of cake! Mmmm... just want to eat it up—sugoi, oishi, XOXO!" "Wow, thank you so much! Like, omg, you painted your nails so pretty." "I know, right? Like, your screensaver is totes cool too, omg!" "OMG, OMG, thank you! The star festival is right now, girl. We're commemorating Uranus (giggle) being at its closest point to Neptune." "I'm, like, totally from Neptune!" "No way! Let's be besties." "Yaaaaaas! I'll see you soon. XOXOXO. Deleting my account. Bye Bye! I suppose that's the impermanence of beauty, LOL!" "Nuuuuuu! I wanted you to praise me more for my talent!"
Yeah, whatever, it just seems like some vapid influencer coming along to blow smoke up the Uranus of Uta and validate her as an individual and creator, while offering a fantastical view of a futuristic culture in the far reaches of the solar system. Uranus and Neptune represent the two coming together, punctuated by fireworks and an auroral display, and separating in a mixture that's hopefully inspirational and bittersweet...
We get sweet eye candy, color-coordinated art direction, a tasty pastel aesthetic that's equal parts cutesy and moody, and a snazzy sci-fi setting. Instead of a real character, one may start to get the impression that Paula is a mere muse of sorts, truly living up to the role of being an "influencer" and leading people to greater heights (as opposed to their actual role of spitting propaganda and brainrot). In the beginning, Uta's card gives her limited access when using the elevator, but she has full access by the end, acts like a girlboss, and shows off her holograms to everyone, indicating apparently oodles of character growth without any real effort... or something. Creating a truly meaningful work isn't easy in such a short running time. Though vague, Ephemere is functional, yet, nevertheless, a tad shallow and derivate of other aspirational moeshit. Ephemere is like a girl peacocking with a cute as a button ribbon in her hair, but, once you approach, you realize she's just an expressionless mannequin. Overall, it's a fair tech demo from the studios involved, and it comes recommended to yuribait and CGDCT enjoyers.
