The start of a new year is one of renewal and fresh starts and of course, catching up with the latest shows. This last Animation Is Film Festival previewed a number of animated works available for viewing this month.
Gold Kingdom and Water Kingdom
Directed by Kotono Watanabe from MADHOUSE Studio and based on the manga Kin no Kuni Mizu no Kuni by Nao Iwamoto, this is a charming feature about two adjacent kingdoms who historically hated each other so much they built a wall separating them to stop the constant fighting. In an attempt to leave the door open for reconciliation, a secret pact is made stating that 100 years in the future, the Gold Kingdom (Alhamit) will offer up their most beautiful woman and the Water Kingdom (Baikari) will offer up their most brilliant man to form a couple that will hopefully bring peace to the area. Unfortunately, in the intervening period, the Gold Kingdom runs out of water and the Water Kingdom sinks into poverty from lack of trade and while the most logical thing would be for the two to combine resources, we know that most governmental heads have no interest in logic or common welfare. The rulers separately decide the best course is to provoke warfare and take what they need from the other nation, and purposefully sabotage the promised union by choosing a woman who, while wise and compassionate, is looked down on for her mild demeanor and plump appearance, and a man who, although a bright engineer, is scorned for his lack of warrior tendencies. The two must then combine their abilities to try to stop the needless bloodshed and bring the countries together to share in their abundance.
I found this to be a really entertaining film with cute and distinctive character designs. The plot, which revolves around the ridiculousness of most historical grudges and the tendencies that countries have to take what they need as a quick fix, when a cooperative venture could ensure prosperity for everyone for years to come, is almost too on the nose with today’s political climate. The main characters, Princess Sara and Engineer Naranbayar, are wonderful examples of people who are completely disregarded by their respective cultures, and who yet have enough self-esteem to escape bitterness and work tirelessly to save the populations that undervalue them. While the animation lacks some of the fluidity we might be used to from bigger-budget projects, there is a lot of heart in this one that more than makes up for it.
Gold Kingdom and Water Kingdom releases in Japan on January 27, 2023.
New Gods: Yang Jian
The third entry in the Light Chaser Animation studio “New Gods” universe after White Snake and New Gods: Nezha Reborn, New Gods: Yang Jian is loosely based on Chinese mythology and follows a once-powerful god who now ekes out a living as a slightly-amnesiac bounty hunter. A job hunting down a young man named Chenxiang disrupts Yang Jian’s casual existence by reuniting him with long-lost family members and memories. These propel Jian into a quest for a magical lotus lantern of immense power that will force him to confront his past and reconcile his present.
While the various twists and turns of the plot sometimes went by faster than I would have liked to process them, the animation on this was absolutely gorgeous. Just like White Snake, which I thought was the best-looking film from the 2019 Animation Is Film Festival, Yang Jian combines smooth and fluid CG with beautiful set design and stunning action sequences. Characters can alternately dance with ethereal movements or engage in bone-crushing combat with breathtaking magical special effects.
While watching Nezha Reborn might give viewers a little more familiarity with the world going into the film, Yang Jian does a good job of filling viewers in on the somewhat convoluted backstory as it goes along. With a movie as good-looking as this one, it would be a pity to miss it when GKIDS brings it to theaters this month.
New Gods: Yang Jian will be in theaters January 20, 2023
Summer Ghost
Summer Ghost is the directorial debut from illustrator loundraw and gives us the story of three teenagers who meet in an abandoned airfield in search of the “summer ghost”–said to be summoned when fireworks are lit and who can answer any question. The urban legend proves to be true, and the ghost of a young girl Ayane comes to them with the disturbing information that she is only visible to those who are closing in on their deaths. Despite that ominous portent, the kids continue to communicate with Ayane and eventually discover the details of her tragic ending and the driving reasons each of the three had for seeking her out.
As you’d expect from the character designer of such good-looking films as I Want To Eat Your Pancreas, the characters are beautifully rendered, and are as expressive as they are economical in design–not a line is wasted in unnecessary detail. The story is, also like I Want To Eat Your Pancreas, a little bit of a tear-jerker, but with a run time of 45 minutes, it saves itself from becoming maudlin by not dwelling on any of the unfortunate situations too long. Ultimately, Summer Ghost is a brief, lovely film that reminds us once again that the most haunting part of any ghost story is often the lives of the living.
Summer Ghost is now out on Blu-ray and digital from GKIDS.
As is their tradition, AIF also awarded prizes based on both jury and audience voting:
GRAND JURY PRIZE: “LITTLE NICOLAS” (Le Petit Nicolas) |
SPECIAL JURY PRIZE: “MY FATHER’S DRAGON” |
AUDIENCE AWARD: “AURORA’S SUNRISE” |
SHORTS JURY PRIZE: “ICE MERCHANTS” |
If you would like to get a heads-up on some of the best anime for next year, keep an eye on their website https://animationisfilm.com/ for information about next year’s Animation Is Film Festival.