Children Who Chase Lost Voices / Hoshi wo Ou Kodomo

Review by: John Fragglepuss Evans

Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Romance, Underworld

First Released: May 2011, 116-minute film

Summary: Asuna Watase is more responsible and independent than most girls her age. She seems to have it all together until strange sounds and unearthly music from a crystal radio turn her world upside down. Strange occurrences begin happening around Asuna, becoming more severe with time. Soon she’s surrounded by a world of mystery, unsure of how to proceed. It’s up to her and a few of her newfound friends to find the secret this world, something that may be more important than they could have ever imagined.

Children Who Chase Lost Voices combines aspects of several anime films I’ve seen before to form its own creation. The director is Makoto Shinkai, director of such films as: 5 Centimeters Per Second, The Garden of Words, and Your Name. The background animation is gorgeous, especially the wide shots of open landscapes. I also like the character creation of the film. The monsters are unique in their appearance and characteristics. The shadow creatures are creepy and had me watching over my back to make sure they weren’t coming after me. The last bit I’ll mention is the world creation in the film, which I appreciated. I like how the world appeared fairly normal in the beginning with abnormalities appearing at an increasing rate as time passed. By the end it was crazy!

You might enjoy this if: You are of fan of Makoto Shinkai’s others films.

You might not like it if: You cannot handle occasional animation inconsistencies.

Similar Films: Your Name, Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Howl’s Moving Castle

Note to the Viewer: Children Who Chase Lost Voices was broadcast in the U.S. in November 2016 as a part of Adult Swim’s Toonami block during the extra hour gained during Daylight Savings Time.

AMV – Have You Got It by Nefarious Nox

(Warning, the AMV contains spoilers. I figure if you haven’t seen the film, you don’t know what’s getting spoiled anyways, right?)

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