Watches
May 26, 2023
A cool blend of horror and fantasy that reminded me a little of Boogiepop Phantom. This was clearly a passion project, very conceptual and intricate, but also very restrained budget-wise. It's not often you see original anime feature films these days though, so kudos to getting a film like this produced. It makes me yearn for the golden years of anime, some two decades ago.
Kirika is a young woman who just bought an apartment. Her new home doesn't look exactly as advertised and she feels quite bummed about the purchase. To make things worse, a serial killer is out and about, making it very unsafe to wander around alone. Kirika is about to find out a much darker secret about her old neighborhood.
The art style is lovely, though the mix of hand-drawn and CG can be a little crude, as is the quality of the animation. The film looks moody though and coupled with the stylish soundtrack it makes for a superb atmosphere. The plot and lore are interesting too, a bit overly complex in places, but with so much derivative nonsense out there, that's hardly a negative. An impressive little film.