Best Movie for Grownups Who Refuse to Grow Up

Rating: 8/10 (13 April 2018)

Although I don't like the anime style of animation, it didn't bother me this time. The story, if it is literal, does not make much sense, the characterization is lousy, and the motivation of the characters' actions is completely unclear. If the story is symbolic, maybe I did not understand it. One of the reasons for this may be that there was no script for the film, but it was written along the way. There is also a cultural gap between the East and the West. The authors were aware of this, so English-language synchronization contains more text than the original Japanese version, in order to explain to the Western audience some of the things that the Japanese perceive. But I was watching the original Japanese version, so I was deprived of these explanations. Based on what I have written so far, it looks like I didn't like it, but it's not so. All objections are negligible before the unique beauty of this accomplishment. Rationally, I would impose an average grade of five, or perhaps six, but this film does not aim at reason, but wins at a much deeper level. That's why in 2003 it won the award that suits it the best - Best Movie for Grownups Who Refuse to Grow Up. In addition, it won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature, as the first anime ever nominated in this category. It is also one of the two animated films that have ever won Japan Academy Prize for picture of the year, and it holds the 27th place on the IMDb Top 250. Deserved.
8/10