Genji Monogatari

Genji Monogatari is the type of film that will only be enjoyable to certain types of people. It seems to be the type of film that you either find brilliant or a waste of time, no in between. If you are patient and can enjoy a film for more than just its story, then I think you will find Genji Monogatari to be a valuable cinematic experience.

I came across this film randomly one night in my YouTube recommended. I thought the thumbnail picture was interesting, so I clicked it and only planned to watch the first five minutes to see what it was like so ... I could decide if I wanted to watch it some other time. (This was at midnight as I was scrolling my phone before bed.) Instead, I ended up watching the entire movie right then, staying up way later than I usually do just because I was too fascinated to pause it til tomorrow.

Sound 10/10
First and foremost, this movie is defined by its music. I am a huge fan of soundtracks and always take care to pay attention to the sound of a movie, and I promise that this soundtrack by Haruomi Hosono has to be the best film score I've ever heard -- American, Japanese, or otherwise. The mixture of natural ambience, Japanese folk instruments, and melancholy chord progressions manifests a unique vibe that defines the movie. At times the music feels almost vaporwave with its slow, moody '80s synths (such as the song "Kechigan"), and at other times it feels ethereal and heavenly beyond human capability (the song "Wakamurasaki" is particularly striking). If nothing else, this soundtrack demands admiration.

Art 10/10
The other major strength of this movie is its lovely art style. Faces, clothing, scenery, etc. are all drawn in such an interesting way. The color choice is also excellent. You can also notice the attention to detail in the artwork. For example, in the Heian Period, it was considered inappropriate for the inside of your mouth to be visible, so people would speak with their lips as closed as possible -- which you can see in how they drew their speaking, the lips barely move. The layers of beautiful clothing -- so much so that they are a burden to walk -- are also historically accurate of Heian aristocracy. There are parts of the film that are experimental, such as the strange opening credits and the ending. The visuals are really such a treat.


Story 6/10
Truth be told, the story itself is not that thrilling. I had never heard of Genji Monogatari before watching, so I couldn't figure out what was happening for a lot of the movie. The plot is best enjoyed if you read what it's about beforehand (like I send, I jumped right in without even reading the description) and I know some other reviewers said its not entirely loyal to the ancient classic. On the other hand, I understood what was going on well enough for the ending to have an emotional tug on me, so if you really pay attention you'll be fine.

Characters 6/10
While Genji isn't exactly likable, he does perfectly capture the quintessential "handsome prince" of the Heian Period -- angsty, reserved, polyamorous, and beautiful. If you ever read up on the Heian Period (or watch the Crash Course on YouTube) the aristocracy really behaved like this. They spoke in poems and slept around and acted sad all the time -- that was the culture. To that effect, the movie captured Heian life well. However, beyond the historical accuracy, most of the characters are pretty flat. I had trouble telling the various women apart because they were drawn very similarly (except their hair, I realized) and all acted basically exactly the same. No one had any flavor to them -- each character was interchangeable with all the others, personality wise.

Overall, Genji Monogatari is movie best enjoyed alone, in the dark, with the best speaker system and biggest screen you can access. Resist the urge to check your phone during the slow parts, don't pause it to go get food or finish a different time. I highly recommend watching John Green's Crash Course on the Heian Period prior to watching the movie so that you can appreciate (and understand) what you're seeing.

this could of been good but its to focus on visuals which are good but everything else ends up a mess

story 3
there needed to be more narration. while normally with movies and shows it should try tell things more with showing. do to the history and connections there needed to be more telling. to help the viewer to understand the connections and characters. the main character and the emperor are the only connections and place in the story that is clear. when it comes to the women it is pretty hard to follow and becomes incoherent. which is bad as in a ... way there connections to the main character is the most important things.this means so much of the value of watching this tail is lost .

art 8
like i said this part is very good. which it better be as the movie gets so distracted by the visuals and art it takes over everything. the art decided to make things closer to old japenese art which it pulls off wonderfully. this is maybe the only reason it might be worth it for some people to watch it. as those who love art and culture will get something unique. this anime loves to have long scenes to try and engulf the viewer in it. the it does over indulge in this to much were it risks you getting bored as a result do to how drawn out they can be.

sound 6
the music is good often using that soothing melody you might of heard if you watched other historic set anime. the sadly as good as it is and its really good specially helping establishing setting . this is the only praise i can give the sound as the voice acting has no emotions. i think this might be a result of the studio trying to do this to help ease the viewer in the setting. the issue is it might be fine with some scenes but the scenes showing the character getting ready for passionate sex. should have a different voice tone then him having a casual conversation . The voice acting should of had more life to them but it basically all characters sound like there talking about boring office stuff.

characters 2
the main character really is the only one who has the slight bit of character. the problem is all there is is he is the the son of the emperor who over time had personal attachments to different women. the movie decided the art should do all the work. so while it might looks absolutely beautiful it badly fails to establish much about these women. the art takes so much control it gets downright incoherent and confusing that narration would of fix a number of issues.

overall 4
in the end this gets so carried away with using music and art to artistically tell this story it sadly fails to let the focus go anywhere else . while it might be interesting to analyze if you love to see something unique and whats parts succeed and fail. this anime might be like a beautifully produced painting but forgets that unlike paintings were you analyze them and enjoy the beauty and make your own meaning base on what your seeing. with anime and shows the reason it is more then just one image is to give a more clear view and give a story. sure for some anime interpretation may play somewhat of a important part but they still need to be establish properly set up and so many other things that make it completely different to looking at art. i want to like this more i really do but unless you have a soft spot for art and culture this is really hard to recommend and i would recommend watching Genji Monogatari Sennenki instead as with a little narration it ends up being so much better at setting things up

Tries toooo hard to be artistic!! Wayyy too slow! This is insulting to the original novel "Genji Monogatari"

The art and sound is fine, I don't have much complaints about it ^^
The story of the original novel is grim, fascinating while the movie just turns it into storyboarding hell!! Walking from one place to another should not take that long!

I get scenarios like Evangelion's elevator scene but this?? I don't see the meaning or purpose behind these dreadfully slow motions and I feel like it's just...pretentious.

The art itself is quite beautiful, I must admit. and there's minimal sound (or when it's used it's very appropriate). ... Just like Ergo Proxy and Evangelion, it doesn't really tell you what's going on- but with Genji Monogatari's case it's way too vague...someone who have not read the novel or at least know the contents and plots prior to watching the movie would most likely find a hard time understanding this story and plot.

Just go read the novel, don't bother yourself with this- I really don't recommend it