Kumo no You ni Kaze no You ni

Ah, Like the clouds, like the wind.
I've always wanted to see this anime. I don't know why I didn't until now. Something about it held me back. I don’t know what it was. I started watching it a few years ago and quit before it started. Maybe I wasn’t ready for this movie back then.

Lets start off with the story. It goes very quickly. I know that this is an OVA and they have to manage their time. It has an interesting beginning. However I don't think a girl In ancient china would be that spunky ... in the first place. Even in the dumps, girls were taught manners and roles. Women were thought to be useless. Anyway, the movie starts off as a comedy, which is one of the reasons I was so shocked at the ending. The story slows down about mid point. You think that the high point of the plot line is when Ginga makes top wife, but then a huge plot twist is thrown in. The story gets dramatic and exciting, and then plummets. Imagine watching a movie’s climax and it’s REALLY good, then suddenly a narrator jumps in and says "then every one died. The end." There are also many unsolved plot points in this movie. It’s almost like the bandits turned to each other and said “Hey, I know how we could mess up this movie!”
Much of the story was lead by "The difference between boys and girls." At first Ginga thinks that Kouyuu is a woman. This leads to an amusing moment after she is given the title "first wife." I know that they were trying to keep the rating down, but I feel as if they needed to “explore” a bit more, have Ginga figure out things slowly. Especially since they put so much focus on it. The stable scene was so vague. You kinda got the idea, but still didn’t feel satisfied. I wanted some real rolling in the hay! Nah, I’m kidding, but I wanted Kouryuu to at least take off his shirt and show her that he’s not a woman. Ah, I’ve said too much. Okay, I think a rolling in the hay scene would have made the movie. I wouldn’t have cared about the ending!
So for story I would have to give it a 6. It’s not a bad story; it just needs some one to go over it with a red pen and a good writing circle.

The animation was a lot smoother than I expected it to be. Some moments were so fluid that it hit uncanny valley. It was a joy to see. Even though the animation is mimicking gibli style, it had a different feeling. The backgrounds were colorful and nice to look at. They generally spent their time making it look good. There were some character designs that made me down right giddy. The girl from the north, (I think? ) with the cool hat and all. I loved her character design. A lot of the times though I was confused on who was who. There were three characters that looked a like. At first I thought the sister was the PE teacher and that they were all the emperor in disguise... I was seriously trying to solve it in the beginning. They needed a few more differences, unless they were aiming for that confusion.
I give art an 8! Way to go movie.

The sound wasn’t very memorable at all. In fact, if I did remember some of the music, it was because it was extremely out of place. The end song needed to be something mellow to bring you down. Instead, you get a spunky song. It’s almost like a slap in the face. Actually, the song made me angry after listening to it. I thought “How can you be so happy with an ending like THAT!?”
Sound gets a 4.

The characters were very nice and varied. I love when all the girls first meet in their rooms. I thought all of them were going to be stuck up and mean. I was delightfully surprised. Ginga grows from a child to a woman. It’s steady and believable. It’s not a sudden jump like “I’m a woman now, lets roll in the hay.” She really is a woman by the end of the movie. In the end, I guess that’s what the movie was really about; her growth from a child to a beautiful young woman. I generally cared for the characters. (Which is another reason why I want more to the ending, I wanted to SEE what happened to them all.)
Character gets an 8

I know I keep ragging on the story, but I really do love this movie. I enjoyed it; I just think it needed something more. I’ve noticed thought with most anime that it leaves off quickly like that. It’s just how it’s done there. I’m so use to American movies where the end HAS to be satisfying. Instant gratification. Once you think about it though, the quick endings leave you so unsatisfied that want to go out and do something about it. They keep you thinking about that movie which eventually brings you back to it. They make you think about how to change them which in the end involves the viewers more. The movie or show then belongs to everybody.
Enjoyment gets a 7.

Over all, I think that this movie is one that needs to be seen. Put it on your list, get it over with or enjoy it thoroughly… until the end, then boo and throw stuff at your screen. I liked this movie. I give it a 7. It just feels right. It has its charms and its flaws, but that’s what makes it interesting.
Now where’s that haystack?

I wasn't sure at first as it looked a lot more Japanese based film then others I have seen, and i also thought it was going to be serious. But I was to be proven wrong gladly, as it turned out a wonderful film due to "Ginga" the main character, she reminded me of that great feeling I had after watching "Mei" & "Satsuki" in the masterpiece by Ghilbli My Neighbor Totoro. That bursting with energy that sence of fun, is what made the film.

It's been a while since I watched this one so forgive me, I noticed thought that there were no reviews and decided to post one.
This isn't a bad OVA by far. But if you're looking for something extraordinary, look elsewhere.
It's run of the mill as far as OVAs and anime go. The characters aren't terribly memorable and the main character (Ginga) looks SO much older than the other girls that the ending kind of threw me for a loop. The character designer did do much of the design work for Ghibli so I suppose that's why.
The originality of the plot has to ... give it some credit though. It's not often we get to see the more personal political matters of the court, such as the subject of choosing the Emperor's bride.
Overall, it's worth a watch. But don't expect this to be one you'll rewatch over and over.

The only thing I can say that is really nice about the film is the background art.
The characters are either cliche or annoying. Ginga is a poor country girl allegedly and yet she acts like a spoiled city brat and it's not charming, especially when the characters scold her and then later say "oh she's so special she will surely be the empress". She's not quirky just annoying. (How can it be that she doesn't know the difference between male and female when she's grown up among farm animals..?)
There's also too many tonal changes which is really annoying.
It looks like a Ghibli film without the ... charm or complexity of a Ghibli film; looks like the character designer of this film also worked for Ghibli..?
A waste of time.

I was disappointed.

This movie had the components to become a good or great work: art style, basic story line idea, basic character ideas.

But after half the movie or a little more it turned around and went wrong.

Art

I like the art style. First I read the synopsis and thought it might be a serious anime, especially using the word "drama". Then I looked at the art and thought, that probably won't be so, because it looks rather cartoonish/child-like.

... Story

As you can take from the synopsis, it was supposed to be about Ginga's training (and occurrences on the way) to become the Emperor's First Wife (yes, they can have a lot more..).
And that's what sounded interesting to me. And in the first half it made the appearance as if that was what was happening.
Then sudden jumps in the time/line happened, supposedly first several months passed (which you can assume from one particular scene they show, which is confusing at first), then they say already x month passed. And I had absolutely no feeling that more than a short amount of time passed and nothing really changed. The characters behaved the same, there didn't seem to be any progress. Just suddenly the training was over and then the story suddenly shifted to drama. To a serious note. Yet somehow, during those serious situations and happenings, they included cartoonish scenes and happenings which just made me think that the characters must be very dumb to behave that way in those situations. It just didn't fit together at all.
Also at that point they seemed to rush and compress the story. Things happened that I didn't expect at all and that didn't really make sense.
And at the end, the characters acted like nothing mattered or really happened..

Sound

I didn't really pay attention to the sound that much. What I noticed from the beginning, though, was Ginga's voice. It sounded weird. Later on I noticed that they might have picked that voice for her so she could later, as Empress, sound more mature.
Also the ending music. I found it horrible, not fitting, and in addition to the ending of the story it felt a bit as if they pierced my heart with a knife..

Characters

The characters were rather unrealistic. Ginga seemed too mature (her conversation with her father) from the start, and how she didn't react at all to provocations from Seshamin was really unrealistic. I couldn't at all make out what kind of person she is and why she acts the way she does. Same goes for other characters. I kept switching between liking them and not caring about them. Because their personalities seemed to switch from behavior that made sense and that didn't. One character, for example, seemed to be wise and intelligent, and then suddenly he does really stupid stuff (cartoonish style).

Enjoyment

Well, at the beginning I thought it could be a great movie, like I said. But then after that half my enjoyment kept going down and then at the end I was really disappointed, especially when the ending (music) came and I was like "What the heck was their intention? To stab people even more after that ending?"

Overall

Overall it went down to the score 5 for me, there were still some aspects that I liked.

Assuming they could've, this would've been tons more ideal as an animated series opposed to a film. This choice led to so much time restraints that with as much story and characters involved, they couldn't do much more than brush the subject and then change the scene. It's like a preview to a novel that doesn't exist.

So, basically the story takes place over the course of 6-7 months. They literally skip half a year with nothing changing about the cast aside from some getting new clothes. So little changed between the cast that it might as well been a week spent. The story either ... played it super safe or they were just really bad at writing. I can't quite tell since it's a rather dated style.

The art is actually quite nice and rather smooth. Only issue with it is I still can't tell how old the characters are. Some are more obvious their age range, but it's annoying how I can't tell if Ginga is 10 or 15. They continuously refer to her as "a child" and it matches her typical attitude. But I really can't tell if it's her personality, or if she's indeed far younger than everyone-else. Aside from her impatience and lack of life experience, she doesn't seem any younger than the other female cast aiming to be the Empress.

Overall, this is probably fine to show kids. They might be able to prefer the simplicity of the writing that sacrifices details and depth in order to breeze through the story. But for those that prefer stories, it isn't that good.

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.

I personally rated this anime a 8 because the story is good. The art and soundtrack aren't great but they do quite well when combined with the storyline. Character development moved a bit quickly but it was good, you get to learn more about the actual storyline and the problems facing the characters than the characters themselves. This isn't a masterpiece you'll rewatch over and over like other movies but it certainly a gem in the rough. This requires you to piece things together if you haven't read the manga and its partly worth it since they mention serious issues while having an interesting storyline. ... If you don't mind watching something involving government, patriarchy and where you have to piece things together then this is for you.

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.

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