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

Ookami-sama Supporting

Ashida, Mana Japanese

Inoue, Akiko Supporting

Kiryuu, Sakura Japanese

Mizumori, Rion Supporting

Kitamura, Takumi 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

Shibuya, Akihisa Producer

Kushiyama, Kei Producer, Planning

Fujita, Sachio Producer

Obuse, Kensuke Assistant Producer

Reviews

Dec 17, 2023

ggultra2764

Recommended

Lonely Castle in the Mirror is another anime film focused on a troubled teen overcoming her personal issues through some extraordinary means, in this case entering a parallel world in a castle through her bedroom mirror where she encounters six other teens having their own personal troubles. There are two main elements explored throughout this film's run: exploring the personal issues of each of the characters and the mystery surrounding the alternate world that the seven are able to enter.

For the first one, the seven teens share a common dilemma in that they have their personal traumas impacting their lives to varying degrees. The ... film addresses school bullying and parental abuse in exploring the problems faced by each of the seven teens throughout Lonely Castle's nearly two hour run. It makes a point to mention that while overcoming said traumas aren't easy, there are lifelines available to provide support for those affected. For example in the case of our main character Kokoro, there is a teacher at a special school for bullied kids who goes above and beyond to convince Kokoro that she is available to support her where needed. The other element to this is that the cohabitation that Kokoro and the teens have with one another in the castle provides an environment where they can be themselves and being around those with similar experiences allow them to be in a comfortable environment free from the personal problems impacting their lives. The support that the seven provide one another serves as a vital source of character development for each of them to overcome their personal issues throughout the film.

With the focus on the alternate world, the teens are also tasked by a mysterious girl in a wolf mask called the Wolf Queen to find a hidden room that can grant their wish within a year. While exploring the personal problems of each of the characters, Lonely Castle also drops hints of the true nature of the mysterious castle and different elements of it as the seven are also trying to find clues regarding how they are able to come together, the location of a key needed for the hidden room, the identity of the Wolf Queen, and the location of the hidden room they are trying to seek out. The fact that the teens have a year to solve this mystery also provides this angle of the story a sense of urgency as they have that limited time to both solve the mystery and overcome their personal traumas. These layers of mystery help add more depth to the film's storytelling which, combined with the developments of its seven main characters, gives Lonely Castle tight enough pacing with its storytelling where I didn't feel as if it was padding things out or dabbling into too much for its two hour run.

If there is a weakness to Lonely Castle for me, it would have to be its predictability. There have been enough coming-of-age drama anime films in recent years that have come out with a similar focus on troubled teens overcoming their issues with some sort of extraordinary means and the storytelling beats for this focus are rather easy to pick up on. This also carries over into the mystery surrounding the castle as the plot twists it offers up are quite easy to sort out when you dabble into the bits of foreshadowing offered up throughout the film's run.

Still in spite of said predictability, Lonely Castle in the Mirror offers up a tight narrative in its main focuses on the personal issues affecting its characters and the mystery surrounding the castle that serves as their escape from the troubles they each face. Its exploration of how issues like bullying and parental abuse impact a teen's psyche is relatable and the film makes a point to show that there are adults who care about helping them instead of trying to "fix" them. It doesn't break any new ground as far as its storytelling goes, but I wouldn't say I regret the time I spent seeing this film.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Jan 4, 2025

rubbingmybelly

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	55 replies	by JackCompletes »» Jan 17, 12:43 AM
	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