CHILD OF KAMIARI MONTH

The movie tries to emulate the emotion and wonder of Ghibli, but merely comes off as a rushed, undernourished, pale imitation.

As much as I like some of the visuals and find the overall theme of picking up the pieces of a shattered life intriguing, new anime Child of Kamiari Month never comes together either emotionally or narratively.

The picture sees a young girl crossing the threshold between our world and a parallel universe of gods and demons as she tries to find a new purpose in life after the death of her mother. Unfortunately very little of what happens on screen makes a lot of sense: the script doesn't take nearly enough time to explain the lead character's exact role in fulfilling a magical prophecy or to flesh out the strange new world she stumbles into.

The only thing that is apparent is how much Child of Kamiari Month tries to emulate the emotion and wonder of the best Ghibli movies, but the picture merely comes off as a rushed, undernourished, pale imitation. This is all the more frustrating because in between the good intentions and flawed execution there are nuggets suggesting a much better movie could be made from the same building blocks.

release: 2021

director: Takana Shirai

starring: Aju Makita, Maaya Sakamoto, Miyu Irino, Riko Nagase