Palme no Ki

This is one of the most underrated anime movies in all history.
One of unique kind. If you are expecting some nice story with happy ending just stop reading this.
It's one genre that stands out of all of the rest, it's Dystopian Sci-Fi anime. If you've watched Now and Then, Here and There or Gin'iro no Kami no Agito or Green Legend Ran or even Ergo Proxy and liked them, then you will definitely like this one, it's just plain brilliant, unique and unforgattable. I won't start explaining the story that mostly is so unique that you can't fully understand it without throughout thinking about it. ... It touches many aspects of human psychology like despair, fear, wanting to be acknowledged by people you love. It's brilliant story of puppet wanting become human. It's one of the greatest works of Takashi Nakamura, the genius who created Fantastic Children, one of the most greatest anime ever created. This movie is his another brilliant work that most people haven't seen or even heard of. The ending is so touching that you won't forget it for the rest of your life, and the ending music "Sora no Aosa" by Akino Arai just finishes the most brilliant artistic touch. Just watch it you won't regret it!

I didn’t know about Tree of Palme until it was licensed by ADV. Many of the advertisements gave me the impression that Tree of Palme would be a serious and mature title, despite the childish looking character designs. After watching I was right for the most part, its just I could barely keep awake when watching.

The first thing I noticed and probably most people, was the animation. It is undeniable beautiful and very smooth. Backgrounds in particular were well done and quite nice to look at. I guess since this is a movie the animation is expected to be amazing. ... The character designs are reminiscent of Fantastic Children, being fairly simple and childlike. Personally I’m not really a fan of this kind of design but I guess it works. Sadly, the animation and art was the only thing going for this movie.

Tree of Palme has a Pinocchio like story, where a doll goes on an adventure and tires to be more human. However, the story was told in such a confusing manner I needed to talk to my friends to figure out what was going on. Admittedly, when I watched this I was a bit tired however, I doubt it would had made a difference. This was due to the extremely drawn out manner in which they told the story and the fact that the director seemed so obsessed with making the movie pretty. Perhaps the reason I was confused was because I didn’t like/care about the characters.

In general the characters were quite boring and I couldn’t seem to care about Palme. Even worst the characters were extremely inconsistent, acting completely different a split second later. The motivation behind these changes in character was weak...wait was there any motivations behind these changes? I can’t seem to remember anymore.

Perhaps that last line sums up the movie for me. In the end The Tree of Palme was a completely forgettable movie. The story was told in an extremely confusing manner and even worst it was boring. Characters were bland, superficial and inconsistent and the only reason I remember the main characters name is because its in the title of the movie. I would like to talk more as this is easily one of the shortest reviews I’ve written but I can’t seem to remember anything else. Also, the only reason why I didn’t give Tree of Palme a 1/10 was due to the high quality animation.

Story is not easy but it is deep and good.
Animations are lovely.
Sound is ok.

Not everyone will understand this movie and will say " i dont like it"

I really like this film very much.

This has got to be one of the most trippy, esoteric, surreal and all around bizarre things I have ever witnessed. You know how creepy and weird all the freaky dreams of giant oozing teddy bears that sing and destroy hospitals Tetsuo had in Akira? Imagine two hours of THAT being used to tell a Pinocchio "I want to become a real boy!" story, except the story is very confusing and Pinocchio is highly manic.

Watching the movie, you can see the underpinnings of what in concept would be a decent story, but Takashi Nakamura mangles it so much with bland characters, muddled storytelling, heaps of ... unexplained occurences, and dragged-out scenes that result is 2 hours of vegetative confusion as the viewer watches, their brain struggling to comprehend what's going on by gaining what little cognitive traction it can from the small kernals of coherrant storytelling underneath all the failure.

The mood in the movie changes a few times as well, and is a little jarring. It starts out with a little action in the beginning, but quickly slows down to a slow, plodding pace. After a certain event, things pep up and it almost feels like Disney movie. Then after another event, the movie begins a long, hour and a half descent into the aforementioned confusion, muddled story, and throws in plenty of strange, bizarre and sometimes disturbing imagery that heralds the collapse of a good concept into a rotting pile of failure. Its as if different parts of the story were written at different times when Namakura was in different moods then mashed together in some kind of horrid amalgamation that everyone was too polite to point out was rubbish.

The only redeeming qualities this movie has is that the animation is very fluid and well done (even if the character designs look a little uninspired and dated) and the sound is good. Other than that, there is plenty to write home about, none of which is complimentary.

Avoid this like the plague. Don't even accept it if someone is giving it to you for free. If someone gives it to you as a gift, smile as you accept it and then throw it away when they leave. Its that bad.

At first I thought this movie was going to be a very happy and fantasy version of the classic 'becoming human' plot, but boy was I wrong about that assumption. A Tree of Palme is definitely a much darker and deeper version with a small fantasy twist.

This movie definitely isn't for everyone. I was only able to watch it with sparks of interest because of the deepness and strange visuals and symbols of the movie. The animation and music were the highlight of the movie, for some reason the music always had me in tears even when it wasn't a part where I was supposed ... to cry!

The visuals, animation, and music definitely make up for what was the problem of the movie. The story and characters. I managed to try my best and kept up with most of the story, there were some loose ends left here and there and some parts were scattered about. It's like putting a puzzle together but quite a handful of pieces are missing.

With some characters, they were quite adorable that's true. But these were most of the side characters. The main character, Palme, was changing his character almost every second and it always threw me off on what his objectives were. It also felt like some characters were being developed too quickly because they weren't in the beginning of the movie.

The ending wasn't the best, but it wasn't the worst either. I would say more but that would be spoiling.

Overall, I was able to the understand the movie and thus I enjoyed it. Plus, I'm such a sucker for interesting, weird, visuals! ♥

This film was bizarre. From character and setting to the story itself, it was downright strange. The story is basically that of Pinoccio, but quickly dispel the Disney images from your mind. This is the story of an emotionally disturbed puppet with a sever lack of empathy who is posessed by an equally emotionally disturbed amazoness who wants to become a real boy. And while that might sound interesting, trust me, it isn't. The ending impression is a feeling of 'what did I just witness' and 'I'm glad I didn't actually pay money to see that/I hope I can get ... a refund.'

The imagery is stunning, and gorgeous, such as Palm and Popo in a canoo on a river filled with glowing lotus. The setting was reallly beautiful. However, that juxtaposed with a dying woman being attacked by what honestly look like giant phalac symbols is just plain strange and jarring, like watching a Dali Painting in motion. Characters are also designed to look childish, which seems at odds with the dark story.

The characters, overall, are an uninteresting bunch. Two of the main group seem to be there to look cute but serve no real purpose to the plot or development of other characters. Popo, the main heroine simply seems to be the world's whipping girl with no backbone. Palme is manic and seemingl has some kind of bipolar disorder coupled with a serious empathy problem, even going so far as killing something because he feels like it and is curious and practically kidnaps and hurts Popo, who he claims to love. Shaka, who becomes Palme's sidekick and son of one of the antagonists seems to be the most able bodied, mentally stable and interesting character but takes the back seat to our bipolar puppet friend.

The story itself is straightforward. The puppet wants to be a real boy and has to go on a journey to do so. However, the plot advances very slowly leaving the audience to watch Palme's psychotic episodes, watch Popo be abused, and be subjected to trippy imagery. With such a straightforward plot, one might have thought either the story could have been wrapped up sooner, or a little more effort could have been placed on characters. It also becomes more complicated than it really needs to be. Just when you think you have a grasp on Palme's psyche, or where the story is headed, it suddenly takes an unexplained, unnecessary manic change. What really should have been a fairly simple story was taken too far, filled with unnecessary or two dimensional characters and filled with more disturbed disorders and surrealist imagery than you can shake a stick at. It's completely disorienting.

This is certainly not a children's movie! If my descriptions of weird creatures shaped like male anatomy and psychotic puppets and violence were not enough to explain this, I'm not sure what will.

Sound and imagery are beautiful though. If anyone is interested in surealism or revisionist fairy tales, I would reccomend this, however for the general viewer it is simply trippy, boring and confusing to watch. It is overall a disorienting experience and a waste of two otherwise productive hours.

A Tree of Palme is a complicated anime that should really be viewed as "Part One" and "Part Two". With that in mind, I will be reviewing the movie not as a whole, but as two separate parts.

"Part One" of the film starts off slow, and really spends time on the atmosphere. The film feels like a trippy 70's poster, with creative backgrounds and creatures. Palme starts off the story as a silent puppet, constantly breaking. He's thrown into a confusing setting, with lots of energetic characters and action. I found it enjoyable how out-of-place hes character is and his inability to understand others.

There's ... some action, and a lot of running away from some guys who are after Palme's oil, which all seems simple and enjoyable. Unfortunately, that all goes away after Palme has a existential crisis.

"Part Two" of the film is very different. It's fast, has inconsistent characters and a really overly complicated plot is slapped on. Palme get more character development and unfortunately it's terrible. It's lazy, half developed and he changes at the blink of an eye to keep the plot moving. The film hits a really slow pace about 3/4 into the film, which made me even question finishing the film.

The first part of this film is quite enjoyable to watch. It gave me a similar feeling to "Angel's Egg" but the film finished feeling like a poor scifi action film. I would recommend watching it only for the beautiful background and designs.

Palme no Ki is a film that first aired in 2002. It was the début work of Palm Studio. Which I only know as the studio behind Genshiken. The film was written and directed by Nakamura Takashi. Who also did animation work on Nausicaa. How does this film hold up? Let's take a look and see.

Story:

We open with a woman battling through a group of dudes. We then quickly cut to a large tree where a humanoid robot, Palme, is hanging. He activates and begins moving. A little dragon sees this and fetches an elderly man, Palme's creator. The old man worries about what ... kind of tree Palme might become, since he's apparently constructed in such a way that he'll become a tree at some point. A tree shaped by its memories. It turns out that he was built to look after the woman who used to live in that area but he stopped moving after she died. Things shift when the woman from the opening scene shows up. Palme mistakes her for his former mistress and agrees to look after the mechanical looking egg she's carrying. Thus begins Palme's journey.

The biggest story issue is that the character conflicts can be pretty contrived. There's a point where Palme and his young friend Popo are yelling about how the other one seems different but we've only seen them interact for, maybe, ten minutes and the whole impetus behind their fight is kind of weak. So, it comes across as a fight based on them barely knowing each other rather than on anything substantial. Palme also freaks out at a different friend because he asks to see the egg Palme's carrying even though Palme hasn't shown that much protectiveness towards it before and he has no special reason to be paranoid. It's not like Frodo lashing out at Samwise when there's a clear story reason behind it it's just Palme randomly deciding he can't trust this guy based on... the dude saving his life multiple times. And you know you've gotta be wary of that type.

That aspect aside, there are a lot of elements to admire in the story. I like that it builds suspense on the basis of this tree transformation. A lot of the tension does come from this ominous idea of just what kind of tree he might become and we see him do quite a few things that make that a cause for concern. Honestly, it also makes for kind of a refreshing change since his personal journey is, ultimately, of greater import than the physical journey. The film is also really good at taking a lot of seemingly disparate elements and tying them together by the end and at providing foreshadowing for how they're going to do it. Which makes for a tale that's very well woven. The pacing is well done. The climax is compelling and well executed.

Characters:

The main cast is pretty nicely done. One issue is that the film might go a bit too far in setting up the possibility of Palme going badly. To the point where it's pretty hard to have sympathy for him after a while. Instead, you find yourself concerned for Popo, Shatta and the other major characters and what Palme going bad would do to them. I do like that none of the antagonistic characters are portrayed as being all bad. The one that comes the closest is Popo's mum, but even with her her faults are very human and she's not entirely unsympathetic.

Art:

The biggest flaw with the art is that the facial expressions can be off at times. Characters will go cross-eyed or they'll be having an intense moment and have an expression of slight annoyance. However, the world design is really well done. With amazing backgrounds, creature designs and various technologies. The action moves very well and the designs are interesting. So, in general it is a nice looking film. It just has the occasional awkward moment.

Sound:

There are some really good actors cast in this. The best performances come, no question, from Toyoguchi Megumi & Sakaguchi Daisuke. There are no weak links in the cast, though. They all do nice work. The music is also well done. It works well for the atmosphere and action.

Ho-yay:

There isn't any to be found.

Final Thoughts:

Ultimately, Palme no Ki is a really good film. It has some issues that hold it back, but it has a good level of complexity, interesting characters, a strong narrative, a great cast and lovely artwork. My final rating is going to stand at a solid 8/10. Next week I'll look at Idol Project.

A Tree of Palme definitely a strange anime, and one that is clearly not perfect, but also a fascinating piece of art. At first glance it may seem like a movie for children, and some elements of it almost feel like one, but it definitely isn't. It's very bleak, at times melancholic and at others very violent, both phisically and psychologically, it's dense and can be hard to follow, and has very mature themes.

It's an anime that everybody will experience differently, because while some of it has the potentiel to resonate with you very deeply, some other elements are just not very good.

One ... one hand, the plot can be confusing at times, there are too much elements in the movie and not enough time to develop all of them as much as they need to. A few characters (Mu and Pu) are unnecessary and would have greatly improved the movie by not being in it, leaving room for other more important things and making the tone a bit more consistent. Overall, the writing feels a bit inexperienced and rushed in places, like something that they should have taken time to refine more.

On the other hand, the anime is gorgeous in every way possible. The backgrounds, the animation, the artstyle, the world depicted, and the music too... there really isn't anything quite like it. The world of A Tree of Palme is incredibly unique, rich, creative, and constantly feels much bigger than what is shown. Every location, almost every scene is filled with things that feel both truly alien and breathtakingly beautiful. The music supports extremely well that otherworldly quality, with it's mix of strange synthetic sounds and orchestal music. The animation is on point, extremely smooth, precise and expressive.
I think watching the characters wander through that world is what I enjoyed the most about this movie. If this visual style speaks to you, then that in itself is a good reason to watch it.

The story, while it might be flawed, has some great elements. While it does try to be about too many things at once, and in my opinion fails to develop every aspect of it's themes, a lot of it is still very good. The characters all tie into the different themes in interesting ways, and their psychologies and relationships are very developped in a mature and complex way, which to me has the potential to resonate very deeply with you if you identify with one or several of the characters.

I general, I would say that A Tree of Palme is a movie that is more than just it's flaws and qualities. It's a complex work that feels very genuine and passionate, it's clear that Nakamura wanted to express a lot of things with it and he did so in a way that is, while at times clumsy and inexperienced, very beautiful.
I think it's a movie that more people should see, because of how unique and special it is, and because of how touching it can be.

It is sad how much this film had the potential to be a masterpiece, but the constant change in tone after the first half possibly killed it.

The vast cast could be narrowed to give more depth to the main characters, especially Palm, as his actions towards the end did not seem credible. He now starts to talk more and have a specific desire (to be a human), so the first initial problem (Taking the Egg of Touto to Laala) becomes less important, and you need to care about his new personality and desire. The same applies to the Sol Lady, and although I personally liked ... and even cried for her past, it did feel kinda of rushed.
Everything was there to make a good story, and the writes did know that and tried to show as much as they could, but doing this they created a movie with a deep lore, but poorly placed.

Even saying all this, I still liked it, the audacity of the writers in putting some scenes in the film impressed me, some characters really stood out during the plot. Overral 7/10