NiNoKuni

“Ni No Kuni” is a 2019 animated movie based on the JRPG video game franchise of the same name. The good thing about this is that you don’t really need to know anything about the franchise or have played the game prior to watching the film. Directed by Studio Ghibli animator Yoshiyuki Momose, the film is about high school student Yuu (Kento Yamazaki) and his friend Haru (Tucker Chandler). After their childhood friend, Kotona, voiced by Abby Trott, is injured by a strange man, the two are teleported to a different dimension different from Earth, Ni no Kuni, while trying to get Kotona to the hospital.

“Ni No Kuni” is an emotional film about friendship, love, and sacrifice. Once they are in this different dimension, Haru and Yuu see how really similar it is to Earth. Wanting to find Kotona in Ni no Kuni, the two friends save the princess and start their own mission after seeing how they can travel between Ni no Kuni and Earth.

Seeing that “Ni No Kuni” is directed by Momose, it is no surprise with how similar it is to Studio Ghibli’s films. Lizzy Garcia said in her review, “The movie has a magical quality to it but features characters that are incredibly relatable. From the stunning animation to the whimsical and at times romantic score, NiNoKuni is a treasure. However, the magic of NiNoKuni actually lies in the relationship between Yuu and Kotona.” Yuu has strong feelings for Kotona and has a crush on her. However, she is currently dating Haru. The three of them are friends but you can see the stress and Haru easily is jealous which you can see when Yuu saves Kotona’s life. When they’re in Ni no Kuni, Yuu speaks to the Princess Asya, who looks exactly like Kotona. There we can see just how strong feelings he has for his friend.

Garcia admitted, “But as impactful as the relationships are in NiNoKuni, what resonated with me the most was Yuu.” Yuu is handicapped due to being in a wheelchair. However, in Ni no Kuni he is able to walk and we never see anywhere when he speaks that he feels “complete” because he can walk. Garcia noted, “The scene where he realizes he can walk is emotional and humorous but never becomes the main point of his story arc. Still, the movie doesn’t shy away from the fact he is in a wheelchair either.” In the beginning, Yuu, Haru, and Kotona go to a bakery to see that he is not wheelchair accessible. Despite Kotona saying to go in a different direction, Yuu rejects and instead goes home. Garcia admitted, “As someone who has had to use a wheelchair due to my own health conditions, that moment was impactful and there have been many times in my life I have just gone home because a place was inaccessible.”

Even though Ni no Kuni is a beautiful realm and he has the ability to walk, Yuu never wants to return. He is happy with his life. There is a flashback scene where Yuu and Haru first meet, and Yuu explains why he needs a wheelchair. When saying the reason, he says to Haru that he doesn’t have to feel sorry for Yuu because he’s fine. How often do you find a handicap person that is content with being handicapped? With everything going on, Yuu never focuses on himself and instead, always is thinking of his friends, especially Kotona. Garcia noted, “Yuu’s compassion, even in the face of unfair circumstances, is often at odds with Haru’s brash nature. It is hard to ignore the fact that Haru, an able-bodied individual who has had a fairly easy life, cannot handle pressure like Yuu. In regards to my own experience, since becoming ill, I have been able to handle more of what the world has thrown at me. Yuu is the strongest of the three and while it is never directly stated, I have to believe that it is because of his life experiences.” Even still, Yuu never feels like a trope.

Despite the story of “Ni no Kuni” being very emotional, the movie does have its own share of flaws. In the second half of the film, the animation changes drastically by becoming more dependent on CGI. Garcia noted, “The stark art change sticks out and makes the scenes feel unpolished compared to other portions of the movie.” However, that is only a small part of the film and doesn’t take away from the story completely. On top of that, there are moments where the pacing of the film can be a little off. Scenes in Ni no Kuni continue without Yuu or Haru really caring even with everything that is going on in their own realm. Garcia said, “This is also due in part to the overly convoluted story. The third act of the film is filled with a lot of plot twists that don’t all seem to correlate to the events that have occurred.” Seeing that this is a video game adaptation, you could see why the pacing and story would be that way but in a movie, it doesn’t really work.

However, “Ni No Kuni” is a good adaptation that really gets the essence of the series. Fans of Studio Ghibli films or fantasy animes should stream this on Netflix because of the great, unusual, and emotional story.

I had never heard of the video game franchise and didn’t know that this was a video game adaptation until I researched the film. Still, I thought it was a nice film when I was watching this on Netflix. I don’t know what fans of the video game franchise will think, if they’ll like it or not, but if you haven’t heard of the franchise, like myself, and/or have never played any of the games, like I haven’t, then I think you would probably like this film. See it for yourself and judge based on your own thoughts.

Alright everyone, we have now come to the conclusion of “Anime Month.” I hope everyone enjoyed it as I did. Hopefully everyone has checked out these films and hopefully I gave everyone some good recommendations to watch.

Look out next month because I will be reviewing a franchise that I have wanted to look at for quite some time now.