Kagami no Kojou

In a tranquil neighborhood of Tokyo, seven students are avoiding going to school—hiding in their darkened bedrooms, unable to face their family and friends—until the moment they find the mirrors in their bedrooms are shining.

At a single touch, they are pulled from their lonely lives into a wondrous castle straight out of a Grimm's fairy tale. This whimsical place, oddly lacking in food and running water but full of electrical sockets, is home to a petulant girl in a mask, named Wolf Queen and becomes their playground and refuge during school hours. Hidden within the walls, they're told there's a key that will grant one wish, as well as a set of clues to find it. But there's a catch: the key must be found by the end of the school year and they must leave the premises by five o'clock each day or else suffer a fatal end.

As time passes, a devastating truth emerges: only those brave enough to share their stories will be saved. And so they begin to unlock each other's stories: how a boy is showered with more gadgets than love; how another suffers a painful and unexplained rejection, and how a girl lives in fear of her predatory stepfather. As they struggle to abide by the rules of the game, a moving story unfolds, of seven characters trapped in a cycle of misunderstanding and loneliness, who are ultimately set free by the power of friendship, empathy, and sacrifice.

(Source: Erewhon Books, edited)

Anzai, Kokoro Main

Touma, Ami Japanese

Inoue, Akiko Supporting

Kiryuu, Sakura Japanese

Mizumori, Rion Supporting

Kitamura, Takumi Japanese

Ookami-sama Supporting

Ashida, Mana Japanese

Kitajima-sensei Supporting

Miyazaki, Aoi Japanese

Ureshino, Haruka Supporting

Kaji, Yuuki Japanese

Masamune, Aasu Supporting

Takayama, Minami Japanese

Hasegawa, Fuuka Supporting

Yokomizo, Naho Japanese

School Nurse Supporting

Takizawa, Karen Japanese

Ida-sensei Supporting

Fujimori, Shingo Japanese

Obuse, Kensuke Assistant Producer

Hara, Keiichi Director

Nagatomo, Takakazu Episode Director

Yuuri Theme Song Performance

Reviews

Apr 19, 2025

AboAhmed130

Recommended

There are no spoilers in this comment, just my personal opinion about the film (in general).

In short, do you want a comment that encourages you to watch the movie? Alright.

The film revolves around cases and discussions. So, if you're into movies that are dialogue-heavy, that feature deep conversations, that have a slow build-up… if you’re a fan of slice-of-life or analytical themes.
Then I definitely recommend it, go ahead and give it a watch.

As for the visuals and audio, I might not be the best person to judge, but I’ll admit I’m biased toward Edogawa Conan’s voice! I absolutely love that voice and the quotes ... often referenced from the Detective Conan anime, so for me, I truly enjoyed Conan's voice in this film.

As for the negatives, overall, I wasn’t satisfied with the ending. I felt like the film dragged at times, like things were stretched out, only for events to suddenly speed up near the end. There were many questions I hoped to get answers for, but I still didn’t fully understand even after the movie finished.

Overall: 8/10 — mainly because I felt a bit bored during the middle, and the ending didn’t feel satisfying.
Still, I’d recommend watching it.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Jan 4, 2025

Bellyyyyyyy

Mixed Feelings

"Lonely Castle in the Mirror" was originally published as a novel in 2017, with a manga adaption serializing from 2019 to 2022, and an anime movie adaption also releasing in 2022. Both the novel and the anime movie received a good amount of positive recognition, so why are there so many people unhappy with the anime adaption compared to the novel, you ask?

Actually.. I didn't read the novel. I only completed the manga adaption recently. Despite hearing that the manga didn't entirely live up to it's source, I really enjoyed it, so I had very high expectations when I decided to watch the movie. I ... didn't even expect the movie to be perfect, but I wasn't anticipating to be let down as much as I was, either, so my expectations were eventually crushed.

The story stays the same: 7 kids who avoid going to school are taken into a mirror leading to a magical castle and are given the opportunity to make a wish as long as they find a key. But, keeping the overall story the same isn't the only job of an anime adaption, and the movie really only did just that, giving watchers the bare minimum. To avoid spoilers, I'll be keeping my list of reasons for being disappointed as short as I can. The pacing felt kind of rushed (or maybe I was just bored?), there were a LOT of important details left out, character designs were a little different*, and I just felt so bored during the whole movie. Compared to the manga, I genuinely didn't feel any emotion and wasn't left on the edge of my seat, waiting for what could happen next. To come back to what I said about important details being left out, there was so much context missing like character backgrounds, in-the-moment details, and even little things in the ending.

I can't really say anything that I liked about this movie. The artwork was fine but it never really showed off, so there isn't anything too notable to say about it. Kudos for keeping some of the general details, I guess? A lot of my reasons for disliking this movie are because I had previously read the manga adaption. If you haven't read the manga or novel, you might enjoy this a lot more than me. However, I can't really say I enjoyed this, so I rate this movie a 5/10.

*I was only comparing the character designs in the movie to the manga, I don't know how accurate they are compared to the novel

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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May 11, 2024

graspulver

Not Recommended

I was really disappointed with this adaptation from manga/book to anime. So many details were missing, even important ones. It's a shame because the book is really good. Watching it, you don't even get to know the main character properly. Of course, she doesn't talk much, but she has a lot of inner monologues that build up her character. The other characters have as much personality, which is a shame. Everything is so random, and the pacing is even worse because the movie is so rushed. Let's not talk about the animation.
I wouldn't recommend this movie, and I'd rather suggest reading the book. I ... haven't read the manga, so I can't really say anything about it.

Reviewer’s Rating: 1

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	Poll: Kagami no Kojou Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Usopp8000 - Jan 1, 2023	53 replies	by AboAhmed130 »» 11 hours ago
	There's actually an epilogue to this film Jax - Apr 8, 2024	11 replies	by Zarutaku »» Dec 18, 2024 4:46 AM
	Over a year, movie is still loved by many people. kumajoi - Feb 9, 2024	5 replies	by BassDrivenM »» Mar 24, 2024 2:46 PM
	Is this English Dubbed? OtakuSociety8 - Feb 10, 2024	3 replies	by Akmalbarg47c »» Feb 12, 2024 9:07 AM
	Beautiful movie, if it gets a local release, don't miss it. blenderben - Dec 25, 2022	3 replies	by sxnchit »» Jun 20, 2023 10:20 AM