Name: Children Who Chase Lost Voices / 星を追う子ども
Type: Movie (1hr 56min)
Studio: CoMix Wave
Director: Makoto Shinkai (Your Name, Weathering with You)
As I just recently watched it, thought I’d make the review as soon as possible~
Summary:
Asuna’s (MC) favorite pastime is to frequently visit a nearby mountain to listen to the radio. One day she encounters a mysterious beast who attacks her. She is saved by a strange boy, Shun. Little does she know, this encounter would lead her to a world of myth, Agartha.
Art:
- Scenery: Can you spell beautiful? It’s absolutely gorgeous. The clouds make a good aesthetic with the rest of the scene. But it doesn’t have much detail.
- Character: Hmm… Not as good as the scenery honestly. If I had to say, it looks like a cross between the old anime art style and the newer ones. The line art resembles the former. While the coloring used is more like the latter. It’s still nice to look at though. But it’s especially pronounced when the character is miniaturized in the scene. The monsters aren’t set to look “majestic” or like how you would expect them to, but instead looks… normal? Well, like what a normal monster might look like. With some weird tattoos.
Story:
Captivating. It was well written with due attention given to even small details, like her classroom and how the students behave. It manages to keep you hooked while still being at a slow pace. But during action scenes, that are well-choreographed might I add, it can get fast-paced almost immediately. And even though set in a fantasy world, it keeps the story real when it comes to humans and does not show much of the fantasy genre. Except for the occasional monster that is used as a plot device to move the story forward. The only monster worth paying attention to is Asuna’s pet, MiMi. And unlike usual, they reveal the main theme of the story halfway through the film or so.
Characters:
Yeah, there’s character development. Especially since the meaning of the story is so huge and all. Although the destination is almost the same. And there are only three characters so… Well it’s still pretty interesting. Although they all have varying starting points. Asuna, herself faces loneliness due to her dad having passed away when she was very small and her mother almost never being home due to her work.
Animation:
Honestly the best thing in this film. Unlike usual animations where scenes are often skipped to save budget or stuff, this one has very, and I mean very, smooth animations. And on the scenes where she’s eating, well, those are absolutely amazing.
TL;DR:
Good:
Animation
Art
Attention paid to small details
Simple but effective meaning
Bad:
Simple characters
Cliche ending
