Mirai [rating=4]
Mamoru Hosoda has taken us on an adventure into the digital world, to a hidden world of mystical creatures, through time and introduced us to two siblings with extraordinary abilities. Hosoda’s latest feature ‘Mirai’ is in the same vein as the latter two films, ‘The Girl Who Leapt Through Time’ and ‘Wolf Children’ as we are introduced to brother and sister pair – Kun and Mirai.
The film is set in the modern day and follows four year old Kun (Moka Kamishiraishi), who has just become an older brother to his new sister Mirai (Haru Koroki). Kun believes Mirai has replaced him as he finds attention turning to her, something he finds hard to understand and inevitably makes him dislike her. Upon stumbling across an enchanted garden, Kun is transported to the past and future where he meets future Mirai and other members of his family who help guide him through this rough time in his life.
There is no real peril in Mirai, no villains or life threatening moments, only life changing realisations and family getting to know and understand one another. Some viewers may find the film unambitious because of this, but the level of emotion and attention to detail in each scene more than makes up for it’s lack of danger and slight storyline. It’s an emotional ride that I’m sure will resonate with those who have younger siblings, and Hosoda has captured the innocence and jealously of becoming a sibling perfectly.
As expected, once again the animation in Hosoda’s work is nothing short of beautiful, this time blending 3D and 2D animation more than ever before. This was executed very well and looks fantastic. Scoring the film is Masakatsu Takagi who has previously worked with Hosoda on ‘Wolf Children’ and ‘The Boy and the Beast’. I sincerely hope Takagi continues to work beside Hosoda on future films as his scores are among my favourites and really bring the fun and emotion to a scene.
I’d highly recommend you check the film out on it’s limited release this weekend. Anime fan or not, there is something for everyone in this charming film. Mamoru Hosoda’s latest is guaranteed to make you see your family differently after viewing.
