The uneven Japanese animated fantasy “The Deer King” often resembles the sort of Studio Ghibli action-adventure that made animation figurehead Hayao Miyazaki internationally famous, especially “Princess Mononoke” and “Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.” “The Deer King” not only looks like those Studio Ghibli staples, but also follows a plot that recalls Ghibli-style high fantasies: two warring feudal kingdoms try either to capture or enlist Van, a resourceful ex-soldier who may or may not be immune to a devastating plague.
Comparisons between “The Deer King” and Studio Ghibli’s better known movies seem inevitable, especially given how many of this movie’s creators learned their trade as animators and animation directors at Studio Ghibli, particularly co-directors Masashi Ando and Masayuki Miyaji, and key animators Kenichi Konishi and Kenichi Yoshida. Thankfully, what works in so many Ghibli movies also mostly works in “The Deer King,” given the craft and consideration...
Comparisons between “The Deer King” and Studio Ghibli’s better known movies seem inevitable, especially given how many of this movie’s creators learned their trade as animators and animation directors at Studio Ghibli, particularly co-directors Masashi Ando and Masayuki Miyaji, and key animators Kenichi Konishi and Kenichi Yoshida. Thankfully, what works in so many Ghibli movies also mostly works in “The Deer King,” given the craft and consideration...
- 7/14/2022
- by Simon Abrams
- The Wrap
There’s more warmth than wisdom in the animated Japanese coming-of-age drama “Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko,” an exceptionally well-realized variation on a by-now familiar anime story: a young girl learns how to love herself and her life in a picturesque seaside town.
The typically impressive craftsmen at the Japanese animation studio Studio 4°C have successfully highlighted the most endearing parts of this mother-daughter dramedy, which is as much about going through puberty as it is about accepting a parent or guardian for who they are.
Director Ayumu Watanabe and supervising animation director–character designer Kenichi Konishi (“Children of the Sea”) capture the halting rhythms and awkward splendor of daily life in a small port town. That makes all the difference in this story about a shy pre-teen who learns not only to look forward to her adolescence, but also how to empathize with her embarrassing single mother.
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The typically impressive craftsmen at the Japanese animation studio Studio 4°C have successfully highlighted the most endearing parts of this mother-daughter dramedy, which is as much about going through puberty as it is about accepting a parent or guardian for who they are.
Director Ayumu Watanabe and supervising animation director–character designer Kenichi Konishi (“Children of the Sea”) capture the halting rhythms and awkward splendor of daily life in a small port town. That makes all the difference in this story about a shy pre-teen who learns not only to look forward to her adolescence, but also how to empathize with her embarrassing single mother.
Also Read:
Crunchyroll...
- 6/2/2022
- by Simon Abrams
- The Wrap
Following the impressive “Children of the Sea”, the golden team of Ayumu Watanabe and Studio 4ºC, once more focus on a school girl, Kikuko, although this time she is attending elementary while her mother, the titular Nikuko, is an even bigger part of the picture (pun intended).
“Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko” is screening at Sdaff Spring Showcase
Nikuko, whose name means something on the lines of ‘meat child’, has settled in a seaside town with her daughter, Kikuko, following a series of relationships with men who either exploited or abandoned her, or even both, as the impressive, initial montage eloquently presents. She works in the local tavern, while her daughter, on the cusp of adolescence, attends the local elementary, with all the ‘romance and the politics’ that come with the age being in full blossom. The two of them, however, could not be more different, as Nikuko is big, loud and immature while Kikuko,...
“Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko” is screening at Sdaff Spring Showcase
Nikuko, whose name means something on the lines of ‘meat child’, has settled in a seaside town with her daughter, Kikuko, following a series of relationships with men who either exploited or abandoned her, or even both, as the impressive, initial montage eloquently presents. She works in the local tavern, while her daughter, on the cusp of adolescence, attends the local elementary, with all the ‘romance and the politics’ that come with the age being in full blossom. The two of them, however, could not be more different, as Nikuko is big, loud and immature while Kikuko,...
- 4/23/2022
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Following the impressive “Children of the Sea”, the golden team of Ayumu Watanabe and Studio 4ºC, once more focus on a school girl, Kikuko, although this time she is attending elementary while her mother, the titular Nikuko, is an even bigger part of the picture (pun intended).
“Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko” is screening at Fantasia International Film Festival
Nikuko, whose name means something on the lines of ‘meat child’, has settled in a seaside town with her daughter, Kikuko, following a series of relationships with men who either exploited or abandoned her, or even both, as the impressive, initial montage eloquently presents. She works in the local tavern, while her daughter, on the cusp of adolescence, attends the local elementary, with all the ‘romance and the politics’ that come with the age being in full blossom. The two of them, however, could not be more different, as Nikuko is big,...
“Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko” is screening at Fantasia International Film Festival
Nikuko, whose name means something on the lines of ‘meat child’, has settled in a seaside town with her daughter, Kikuko, following a series of relationships with men who either exploited or abandoned her, or even both, as the impressive, initial montage eloquently presents. She works in the local tavern, while her daughter, on the cusp of adolescence, attends the local elementary, with all the ‘romance and the politics’ that come with the age being in full blossom. The two of them, however, could not be more different, as Nikuko is big,...
- 8/14/2021
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
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