The Omerisms-Mirai Review

As many of you know, I’m currently partaking in a yearly tradition known as The Omer. I’ll spare you the details, you can read more here, but think of it like the Jewish version of Lent. I’m not seeing new releases in theatres for a month, and to tide me over I’ve turned to other forms of entertainment. So welcome to a three-part miniseries called “The Omerisms”, and I’m starting off with a review of a movie that, for several reasons, I couldn’t watch in theatres: anime director Mamoru Hosoda’s latest, Mirai.

I’ve been a fan of Hosoda’s work for years. Ever since I first watched The Girl Who Leapt Through Time on YouTube in 2011, I’ve awaited each and every new film with great impatience. He’s brilliant, easily giving anime legend Hayao Miyazaki a run for his money as an artist. It’s also worth noting that each of his movies following The Girl Who Leapt Through Time has corresponded to a phase in his life, and Mirai’s no different.

4 year-old Kun was used to being the centre of attention. He was young, bright-eyed and spoiled rotten by his parents, so it was expected. But when baby Mirai was introduced into his life one Winter’s day, Kun’s world started crumbling. It began with his parents shifting their attention, gaining steam with his mother ending maternity leave early and forcing household duties on his father. Whenever Kun’s frustrations boiled to a feverish pitch, he’d dart out into the backyard and hide behind the mysterious oak tree, where he’d meet with family spirits of the past, present and future. But why were these spirits coming to him? And what connection did they have to his sister?

Mirai, as I mentioned, continues the trend of correlations to Hosoda’s personal life. With Summer Wars, Hosoda was getting married and learning to adjust to family life. The Wolf Children was his ode to his mother, who’d raised him alone, as well as the excitement of being a father. The Boy and the Beast was him making amends with his father, a man who’d left him at a young age. With Mirai, however, Hosoda turns his attention to his son and his new sibling.

Does he succeed? Yes. It’s hard not to see the struggles of older brotherhood in Kun’s relationship with Mirai, frustrated by his loss of attention, yet fascinated by her as well. This parallels the role that Mirai’s older counterpart plays as a mentor and guide, showing Kun the importance of familial history and helping him find his confidence. It’s not the deepest of allegories, even for a kid’s movie, but it’s charming.

It also rings home personally. I grew up the middle child of three boys, so I was both Kun and Mirai at different points in time. Watching Kun learn to deal with a baby sister reminds me of how my siblings and I interacted, which is important for a film about family dynamics. I also, surprisingly, sympathize with Kun’s parents now that I’m an adult, recognizing the tough balancing act of family and work responsibilities. It’s a testament to Hosoda’s brilliance that everything meshes.

That the movie looks gorgeous helps. Hosoda’s always had a springy, frantic style to his animation, with characters always doing something even while stationary, and he brings those sensibilities to Mirai. The movie also has heavy doses of scenery porn to compliment the characters. Unfortunately, Hosoda dabbles in the egregious sin of Manga Iconography. He used to do it more with his earlier movies, but he dropped it for a while come The Wolf Children. Considering that his animation’s already extremely-expressive, why would he return to it?

Some of the CGI integration also feels off. It’s not terribly-noticeable, and it doesn’t ruin the experience, but it definitely clashes with the traditional animation. Anime has never been known for mixing well with CGI, it simply lacks the budget for it, so it’s preferable to keep its use to a minimum.

As for the music? It’s good. I wouldn’t exactly call it a masterstroke yet, subsequent viewings are needed to fully-judge, but what I’ve heard sounded pleasant and memorable enough. I especially like the opening and closing themes, which, true to Hosoda form, are thematically-appropriate.

I want to give special attention to the dub, which is what I watched. Hemmed by voice actor and ADR veteran Michael Sinterniklaas, it features Hollywood notes like Rebecca Hall and John Cho, as well as VA legends like Crispin Freeman. But the real star is Jaden Waldman as Kun. Child actors are hard to find and train well, particularly in the world of anime dubbing, but Waldman was the best pick Sinterniklaas could’ve gotten. Like Emily Hirst in The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, he’s not only age-appropriate, he’s a damn fine actor.

Is Mirai a great movie? It’s hard to say. I definitely liked it a lot, and I’m happy that it finally nabbed Hosoda an Oscar nod at this past year’s Academy Awards, but I feel as though it lacked the immediate charm of some of Hosoda’s past work. Perhaps time will warm me to it more, but while the movie was cute and relatable, it lacked the gut-punch that, say, The Wolf Children had. It also felt a tad repetitive with Kun’s frequent trips to his backyard, almost rote by his third or fourth temper tantrum. And I wasn’t terribly fond of his character resolution, which felt slightly forced and unearned.

That’s not to say that it’s not worth your time, though. For all its flaws and missed potential, Mirai’s still a beautifully-animated movie with a lot of likability. It might even appeal to you more than me, but for now I’m glad that I saw it.