Genya Tachibana reaches out to the enigmatic idol of his youth, Chiyoko Fujiwara, leading actress for nearly three decades, to make a documentary of her. This may seem as something simple at first glance, yet the approach it took on the narrative was truly captivating: both Genya and his companion find themselves spiraling through the life of Chiyoko as she reminisces about her past, blending in with her memories as well as the reality.
The way this was portrayed was very fitting for the story, jumping from one scene to another from the actress's different movies she acted in. These transitions were very smooth, with each scene portraying a distinct reality. The interactions with characters twists the reality, where Genya plays an active role in the movies with the actress. These situations often managed to crack a smile of my face, as viewers could really understand their devotion and how the characters felt, in addition to being quite amusing as well.
The reason on why Chiyoko became an actress in the first place seemed rather weak and not plausible, having only spend a few hours as a child with a man she didn't know anything of - which will probably be what most viewers think at first. While this is certainly a debatable topic, first love can induce people to do reckless things. What however is of importance here, are the events in her life that happen afterwards, in which the anime explores the loss of innocence and youth. In addition, these events are surprisingly realistic, and relatable to the viewer.
The cast of characters in Millenium Actress played an important role to the overall narrative of the story. First of all, the devotion of Chiyoko to the mysterious man seems rather far-fetched, yet as the story progresses, audiences observe how she ages and struggles with finding that man. It is remarkable how she ultimately confesses in enjoying the chase after said individual, rather than meeting him. As a character as a whole she was rather uninteresting, which was nevertheless compensated with her "journey".
The man itself remains a mystery throughout the whole duration of the movie, which from a point of narrative and story is a positive thing. This nevertheless makes it hard for the viewer to understand Chiyoko's devotion to him, as no information is given at all, which can be a drawback for some audiences.
What however struck me as the most interesting character was Genya; he is introduced at first as a simple filmmaker, yet as the story unravels, his past and motives becomes clear, which were introduced subtly, besides of working as an anchor for the viewers to follow the story and be able to distinguish between reality and mere memories. His dedication on why he revers Chiyoko remains however a mystery.
The animation of Millenium Actress was well done, fluid in motions and transitions in scenes: after all, the viewers were shown differnt scenes from the movies the actress played in, which blended well with the narrative of the story. Backgrounds and characters were compelling to look at, audiences recognizing the typical designs of Satoshi Kon's characters. The soundtrack used was overall not that impressive, though certain themes were wonderful to hear.
Overall Millenium Actress was a very enjoyable anime with a fascinating approach on the narrative, which blended reality and memories. The motives of the characters may seem rather lackluster in comparison, yet the fleshing out of those was certainly well done. I would personally recommend this movie to anyone, as it shows the viewer that the chase after something can be an interesting journey full of twists and turns - or rather, life itself.
Thank you for reading.
