Kumo no You ni Kaze no You ni

Interesting movie. I'm not entirely sure what to make of it, to be honest. Standing out most obviously is the heroine, Ginga, whose personality is the first tell that this is basically a knock-off Studio Ghibli flick. She's very independent minded and shunts decorum in favor of forging her own path, basically, and this puts her in light conflict with the other women vying to be the next empress. But, ultimately, the contest to become the next empress is not at all important to the story, which always has an emperor assassination plot on the backburner before transitioning into a war. I think this movie ... is about how trying to achieve your dreams or, at least, following standard paths to your dreams will never actually satisfy you and will generally blow up in your face. Which is kind of a strange moral for a movie that is otherwise mostly upbeat. Nonetheless, there are certain lines that demonstrate a deep cynicism, most starkly the reminder that keeping the stolen throne will just invite people to come kill the invading userper like the userper wanted to kill the birthright emperor. There is an extended sequence towards the end where the women take up arms to defend their home against the invaders and they kill a bunch of people. It was cool as heck.

Also, even if it was Not Perfect, I did enjoy the early-1990s acknowledgement that gay and trans people exist.

This is a tv-special which tries to show too much, in too little time. It also has some really heavy themes but otherwise it’s supposed to be family material. So it ain’t hard to figure out how it was not successful at what it set out to do.

The premise is somewhat interesting; it is about the new emperor of an empire that “looks” like ancient China, looking for a proper wife and for that reason candidates poor from all over the land, training in the castle in order for the most appropriate to get the position. The funny thing here is that ANY WOMAN can ... participate, regardless of class, something of which never really happened in China… or in any other nation for the same manner… Heck, not even in fairy tales. The premise is still interesting though.

So the heroine of the movie is Ginga, an energetic peasant girl who dreams of an easy life. Her manners are rude but otherwise manages to stand out in the crowd and even makes the emperor (who looks like a girl) to take notice of her for speaking her mind instead of just trying to impress him with good manners. This is again an interesting topic, as it shows how sincerity and boldness are sometimes more important than etiquette and ass-kissing. Other than that, we just have to accept they would allow a woman in ancient times to be so rude to royalty without being executed on the spot. Heck, women weren’t even allowed to speak in most ancient kingdoms. But anyways, it is a story for kids and parents, so it’s not like you need to expect historical accuracy. I guess they wanted to make a point about gender roles, since even the emperor is very feminine and hardly acts as he should.

A side story also regards the campaign of a pair of bandits, who after making a joke about becoming rich and powerful, literally proceed to gather around their own army and see how far they can go. A rebellion is formed out of anyone who wants to take down the unjust emperor. This is again interesting to see how it all started as a joke and escalated to something beyond their own reach. It’s not like we see exactly how they are being so successful in their campaign; they just win out of screen and reach outside the imperial palace just like that. And in a similar way there was a coup of sorts forming in the palace to usurp the throne but they barely deal with it before it is all over.

As interesting as the above themes are, the story barely lasts enough to fully make use of them. Everything moves very fast and even has weird mood swings from comedy to serious drama. This is what eventually ruins all the mood, as you are constantly bombarded with different themes and emotions that hardly last enough for you to care about. Not even the ending is doing a good job to wrap everything up properly, as they rush through the events, the tv-special ends, and then a narration tells you of things that happened later on. That was simply lame.

The production values are ok for the little tale they made here. It kinda feels like Ghibli in the simplicity of the faces (actually the character designer was from Ghibli) but it hardly has their high budget to offer variety to colours and exceptionally smooth animation. The soundtrack is quite unremarkable and I can even say it hardly fits the mood of the story or that each tune was not always properly following what was going on with the plot. Voice acting… well, nothing much.

So in all, it’s as if the makers of this weren’t trying much to create something great. They went too light and humorous and then just switched to drama for the lulz. You hardly get to appreciate Ginga’s escapades in the castle, since they last too little and the rebellion leaders are acting like they are going on a picnic instead of trying to accomplish a lot. Nobody besides the heroine is fleshed out properly and there was enough material to fill a full-season series here. They even have a sex scene of sorts towards the end but everything happens out of screen and you are just wondering WHERE DID THAT COME FROM? It will disappoint most viewers since it hardly makes use of its own setting.

And now for some excused scorings.
ART SECTION: 8/10
General Artwork 2/2 (well-made)
Character Figures 1/2 (average)
Backgrounds 2/2 (well-made)
Animation 2/2 (good)
Visual Effects 1/2 (typical)

SOUND SECTION: 4/10
Voice Acting 1/3 (simple)
Music Themes 1/4 (typical and out of sync with the story)
Sound Effects 2/3 (ok I guess)

STORY SECTION: 4/10
Premise 2/2 (interesting)
Pacing 0/2 (rushed and with sudden mood swings)
Complexity 2/2 (rich context)
Plausibility 0/2 (none)
Conclusion 0/2 (a narration to fill in the blanks is lame)

CHARACTER SECTION: 6/10
Presence 1/2 (average)
Personality 2/2 (simple but well founded)
Backdrop 1/2 (simplistic but it’s there)
Development 2/2 (only for Ginga but there is a lot for her)
Catharsis 0/2 (stupid ending ruins everything)

VALUE SECTION: 4/10
Historical Value 1/3 (a bit famous for looking like a Ghibli film)
Rewatchability 1/3 (low because of the messy pacing)
Memorability 2/4 (good setting but hardly looked into)

ENJOYMENT SECTION: 4/10
It barely makes use of its setting and the pacing is messy.

VERDICT: 5/10

An inept take on the historical significance of a woman's role in a royal court, but beyond that, it almost feels incomplete. The premature nature of the ending isn't entirely to blame, not so much as the film's slapdash composure. It's quite tough to pin the blame on a specific element as they share the responsibility of keeping a story's mingling themes afloat, and Kumo no You ni Kaze no You ni seems to lose sight of which of its messages are more relevant. However, if I had to indicate the overarching structural blunder, it'd be the heavily condensed timeline, such that nearly every major ... event is severely underdramatized. The plot follows Ginga, a commoner competing for a place beside the emperor as his wife, and her rowdy personality strikes most people the wrong way. Her climb up the ranks would've made a fine multi-faceted conflict, simultaneously targeting feminism and beauty standards that it ever so slightly brushes upon. It can hardly be called a romance, even less so a comedy, especially considering the kid-friendly humor is on the drab end.

The political chaos makes a fierce entry into the state of affairs, and the compulsive attraction of rebellion is convincing, at least in reasoning. Aiming to overthrow the current emperor, lesser nobles and village folk raid the palace. The film roams through jarring tonal shifts, or rather lack thereof, given the comical presentation of outwardly serious subject matter. Tackling numerous subplots isn't necessarily an uphill battle, but there needs to be a conclusive goal where various narrative points reach stable closure. Speeding across twists and turns diminishes shock value, while the byproduct is underwritten characters caught in the crossfire of heavy-handed and often emotionally flat climaxes. It's really a shame since studio Pierrot's production values are noteworthy, specifically the Ghibli-esque designs (from a frequent Ghibli character designer) and the gentle background art, which incorporates a bit of foreshadowing in the opening act. Thin like the clouds, temperamental like the wind.