Story: 10/10 A+
Animation/Art: 11/10 S-
Sound: 9/10 A-
Characters: 10/10 A+
Acting(subbed): 10/10 A+
Overall: 12/10 S+
TLDR:
This is an absolute masterpiece of a film. It truly feels like the love child of a genius. You can feel the amount of passion, love, and dedication that was poured into this film. Story wise it's perfect. It's emotional, funny, and tragic and is very well-paced. The animation is incredible, full of expression and its simplicity allows for such dynamic and incredible movement. Unfortunately, the art style may not be to your liking but I for one love it. The music is amazing for this movie, as with most Studio Ghibli movies, but unfortunately, despite it certainly amplifying the effect of many scenes, none of the music particularly stands out as truly incredible. The characters are extremely well-developed and are all unique in the most human of ways. The main character Kaguya in particular is amazing and her relationships with other characters are, in my opinion, the second best part of the movie. The acting is spot on. Each voice actor went truly above and beyond. This movie has some of the most emotional and raw acting in anime. Overall this is now my favorite movie. Every aspect of it is truly incredible.
Story:
Absolute masterful work here. The story is incredibly emotional, funny, and tragic. All three of these bundled together into a masterpiece. A big plus here is that I thought it was actually paced well. Usually, I have a big problem with Studio Ghibli movies and their pacing, but in this case, I didn't even question it at all. It was perfectly paced. Now, there may be a belief that this movie centers around the Princess giving male suitors impossible tasks to complete but in reality, it's much more about Princess Kaguya herself and how she comes to love earth and to love hating earth at the same time. It is only through the suitors that we get to see some of the deeper thoughts and intelligence of Kaguya and how she views the world. Nearing the end of the movie the story's tone takes a switch to a much more fast-paced and desperate feeling as Kaguya tries to enjoy the remaining time she has left on earth. This section of the movie is, in my opinion, the best. It's full of hard-hitting emotional moments and really portrays the message that the movie is trying to send to the audience very well. That ending was absolutely heartbreaking and yet provides the smallest semblance of hope for a better future through the falling of just a few tears. One thing I loved about this movie is that it turns an enlightened, godlike group, into a group that is in fact lesser than humanity. The movie shows that this group has given up emotion in all forms, ridding themselves of pain but also happiness. The movie wants people to understand that the suffering of life is worth it and in the end, even suffering is an experience to cherish and value.
Animation/Art:
Absolutely fucking phenomenal. Like just a round of applause. Now I can understand that it can be offputting. But I am a big believer that anime is not only multi-genre, but should also have multiple animation styles. In this case, Princess Kaguya takes beautiful and unique animation to a whole other level. The entire movie is done in a style that makes it almost look like you're reading it off of a scroll, fitting since this is based on an old folktale. The simplicity done for this movie allows for unparalleled levels of expression and movement. The faces and just how the characters move around on screen are filled with so much dynamic movement that you just can't find in basically any other anime. The animators aren't focusing on intense detail and a beautiful sunset but on the smooth and expressive movement of the characters. This is only given a greater effect when the animators begin to add creative expression to the scenes they have. This is best exemplified in the scene where Kaguya runs away. I've seen beautiful and unique animation before but that was something else. The movement into darkness, the distortion of Kaguya, the angles we see it in, how it gets progressively more distorted as Kaguya begins to break down just a little bit more, it was just so GOOD GOD DAMN! Overall, absolutely beautiful and incredible.
Sound:
Sound design and stuff like that is not really something I know a lot about so I'm going to skip over that part and go straight to MUSIC. The music in this movie is absolutely excellent. It perfectly reflects the whimsical and joyful parts of the story while also taking on darker and more melancholy tones when the need arises. Having listened to the soundtrack a few times I can confirm it's defintiely one of the best soundtracks I've ever heard. Some soundtracks in this movie have left me completely suffering from flashbacks to the movie ever time they come up. It's truly a masterpiece of a soundtrack and one of Joe Hiashis best.
Characters:
The characters in this movie are nothing less than excellent. Princess Kaguya in particular is very well written. Going from a child to a young woman in such a wonderful way and is an absolute joy to watch the whole way through. Seeing her enjoy life and then see her lose the sparkle of joy she had so greatly possessed and then to see her be left in desperation, trying to experience all that life had to offer in the little time she had left, it was also so moving. Other characters are also amazing. The father is a great character who becomes blinded by greed for all of the right reasons. He desperately wants Kaguya to pursue a happy life but when it begins to merge with the life that he dreams of living he begins to apply the dreams that he wishes for to Kaguya. Yet in the end, he shows that he truly cares for her and is completely devastated at the possibility of losing Kaguya. There is one scene early on in the movie where he shouts out Kaguyas name and she comes running to him instead of to a group of boys also shouting out her name. I can't say how deeply this scene moved me. The joy on his face and the fact that he nearly cries when this happens does nothing except cement the father as a man who lost his way but still deeply cares. The mother cares equally for Kaguya but doesn't become blinded by her own dreams. She instead tries to pursue the greatest happiness for Kaguya and so she becomes the second most lovable character on the show. Being nothing but a friend and support beam for Kaguya to rest on. I would go more into all the other characters but you really just have to watch the movie to find out.
Acting(subbed):
It's great. The voice actors here really put their heart and soul into this movie. There is one scene where Kaguyas dad calls out to his daughter with a chant and she comes to him instead of a group of boys using a different chant. This simple, tiny, insignificant scene, is nothing short of perfection. It perfectly encapsulates a parent's love for their child as the dad breaks down into tears and runs towards his daughter in sheer happiness as she walks towards him. BUT THIS SCENE COULD ONLY HAVE BEEN SO GOOD if the father was a great actor, and he was. He so greatly portrayed the joy of the father through small voice cracks and an increasing volume it was just so well done. Princess Kaguya is also a great actor. She is able to convey such bittersweet emotion throughout the entire film that just draws tears out of you. It really is just best if you watch the movie yourself for this to get what I'm coming from.
Enjoyment/Overall:
This film is truly a masterpiece in every sense of the word. I have never seen a movie with such passion and emotion. This movie felt like somebody's life work was finally achieved. Like somebody put all of their effort into making a singular movie, shaping it into exactly what they wanted, and what they wanted, turned out to be a masterpiece. The story that this movie goes through is so moving, the music is so impactful, the acting is unbelievably well done, the characters are relatable and moving, AND THAT ANIMATION!!! I can't give this movie anything less than an 12/10. On top of that the topics that it tackles are just done so well. The unrealistic and also unfair standards for women constantly bear down on Kaguya, making her life progressively less happy. How greed can blind us into thinking that what we are doing is for the best of everyone when it's really just for ourselves. How a single moment of foolish usage of force on someone, can completely ruin a person's life. I think the most important part of this film is right at the end. Where Kaguya finally has to accept her fate and yet, it's clear through just a few tears, that no matter what happens, her experience can't ever be lost. Forgotten maybe, but never lost. The emotion that is tied to earth and her life there is immovable. In the end, knowing what is about to happen, Kaguya becomes desperate and rushes to try and take in life's joys and pains right before the end. It's a lesson I think that everyone needs to be reminded of. That life, despite all its suffering and pain, is truly beautiful. It is the only chance to experience its beauty, so appreciate every moment of it before it's too late. I have never felt so absolutely destroyed after watching a movie, nor have I ever felt so incredibly sad months after watching a movie before. This movie is everything I could have wanted it to be and more. 12/10
