Hirune Hime: Shiranai Watashi no Monogatari

Kokone Morikawa has a strange napping disease that distracts her from reality, one that makes the world of her dreams and the real world near indistinguishable. In reality, she is an average high school student preparing for her university entrance exams; but in her dreams she is a magical princess of Heartland, a machine-driven future where the use of artificial intelligence is forbidden.

Within the seemingly imaginary dreamland, Kokone discovers more about her family's past and the secret that her father, a talented mechanic, has tried to protect her from. However, as the events between two worlds intertwine, she must now protect the secret from villainous entities, both dream-like and terrifyingly real.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Morikawa, Kokone Main

Takahata, Mitsuki Japanese

Joy Supporting

Kugimiya, Rie Japanese

Morikawa, Momotarou Supporting

Eguchi, Yousuke Japanese

Kijita Supporting

Maeno, Tomoya Japanese

Sawatari Supporting

Takagi, Wataru Japanese

Morikawa, Ikumi Supporting

Shimizu, Risa Japanese

Watanabe, Ichirou Supporting

Furuta, Arata Japanese

Sawatari, Morio Supporting

Mitsushima, Shinnosuke Japanese

Shijima, Isshin Supporting

Takahashi, Hideki Japanese

Sakurai, Yoshiki Producer

Iwasa, Naoki Producer

Kamiyama, Kenji Director, Script, Storyboard, Original Creator

Hata, Shouji Sound Director

Reviews

Mar 9, 2023

ismichi

Recommended

“Napping Princess” fails on multiple points, but it offers a lot of nostalgic charm that keeps it in good graces. However, the inclusion of Morio is the biggest failure—he offers nothing to the story that the plot itself couldn’t have covered for. Kokone’s also just a crazy person whose condition worsens through-out until she nearly dies.

.

So, the story begins by establishing a realm of mechanics and magic. But the magic is really just a tablet’s search functions/commands that bring machinery to life. Interesting but not really a good term to use. Nonetheless, the world is a convoluted Capitalistic society with no satisfaction within ... even for those at the top. And then, it returns to more-or-less our realm, but based in Japan. These two realms are the setting for the story to come. The magical realm is a more loose style and is the “dream” realm, whereas our realm is a crisp style and is the “awake” realm.

Our MC is Kokone, an undiagnosed-with-something 11th grader. She’s always napping away yet can run for miles with a smile on her face, full of lungs to even have passing-by conversations across the street and then some. She has a poor reputation with teachers due to always falling asleep and her classmates think poorly of her father who wears a “strange” leather jacket. There is no depth to her character beyond being an idiot... which is a good excuse given she sleeps so often, there’s nothing really for her to absorb contrary to being 17.

The story kicks-in pretty early into the movie rather than offering more background for the cast beyond the two realms, right after a light foreshadowing how her dreams may be a form of memory.

Kokone’s father gets arrested by Tokyo police, an old work acquaintance of her parents steals her father’s tablet, she steals it back with Morio’s help, and then the begin the trek to Tokyo. During this time, Morio shares a dream with Kokone and learns it’s a lot deeper than merely her napping all the time, and they both learn that the tablet contains some major tech coding which creates self-operating automobiles such as Kokone’s father’s motorbike they used as travel.

In the end, the adventure concludes on a good note of reconciliation with the maternal grandfather she never knew existed. All without addressing how messed-up Kokone’s mental health is wherein there was a long, false ending while she began to plummet to her demise. Fun.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Apr 1, 2022

Klabautermann

Mixed Feelings

There are quite a few widely accepted things in anime capable of turning me away completely from it instantly. Cheap, pointless fanservice, stale dialogue or anime tropes that just won't die - the list is large. These things are usually strewn across the majority of titles, even the ones I like.
As a result, however, I started gravitating towards the titles like the Napping Princess, which can definitely brag as an original piece of work that has at least some heart and soul put into it, rather than following a formula so many have tried, and so few have nailed.

But Napping Princess reminded me of ... one crucial thing that is much worse, way more damaging than the average formulaic approach that proves to, at the very least, entertain me for a few hours. What that might be, you ask?

Napping Princess is bland as fuck.

It is truly amazing how a relatively simple but intrinsically interesting setting this movie has, can end up with a plot both convoluted and so very empty. Not to say I didn't enjoy it at all - but by the end of the movie you are left with so many loose ends that you can't possibly feel satisfied neither with its resolution nor with its setting.

I had to begin to wonder - how is this possible? The animation is nice and fluid. The soundtrack, I understand, can be engaging, even though I personally found it occasionally jarring. The setting is, again, interesting enough to get invested.

But then you realize that's all there is. There is the plot, the music, and the looks... and no solid theme to explore.

The movie, in fact, showers you with themes... themes that never get a chance to shine.

A car making millionaire that chases profit? Resolved with no input.
A relationship between a girl and her mother, whom she only know though her father's stories is set up to be a huge plot element, only to never be properly addressed or discussed by the end.
A father, clearly distanced from his daughter, and traumatized by the events of his life... never gets a closure.
There is a borderline sentient self-driving vehicle that gets a heroic moment for no reason besides its name, without its role being properly presented to the audience. I mean you can understand its role, by the end... you just end up wondering, 'when the hell was that established?'

... So who the hell is the protagonist in here? The girl who carries that title could easily pass it around to either her friend, her father, or even the vehicle she drives, and the story wouldn't lose nor gain anything because everything about it was bland.

In conclusion, you could argue that the movie is pretty to look at. It has an occasional funny or interesting scene. I would even argue it got fun for a minute or two.
But it was bland, and nothing can save a feature that doesn't dare to go deep enough into a single one of its several themes.

... As an afterthought, the film should go by it's secondary title of 'The Story of the Unknown Me'; the protagonist indeed remains sadly unexplored and unknown, and the only Napping Princess during the time I watched this movie, turned out to be me.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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May 4, 2018

Thedude3445

Not Recommended

Whew... I mean, it's kinda bad but it's almost fascinating how it got this way. The production is pretty solid with generally-nice animation, a good setting (though the Olympics tie-ins are very sparse), and likeable characters, but the fundamental premise is just a stinker and the movie goes practically nowhere. Why did any of the napping segments even exist? Did the studio really just want to make some CGI mech fights? Did they think their plot for the real-life story was too thin (it was)?

I can't say I'm disappointed since I went in knowing this movie doesn't have the best of reputations, but I sure ... wish this was a better movie.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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