Reviews

Kaguya was an enlightening experience, but not in the conventional sense. It elucidated the reason why Takahata's magnum opus Omoide Poroporo is such a transcendental masterpiece by demonstrating how easy it is to do the exact opposite. That is not to say the movie doesn't have its share of promptly noticeable qualities. You won't see a bigger tribute to Japanese painting in animation given the staff carefully poured all their passion into this visual spectacle. I'm not quick to give it the title of best looking Takahata, it's not like there is no competition. Nonetheless, it does encapsulate his progressive side which ironically never quite strays away from the land of the rising sun. Also, I appreciate that he gave Kaguya more depth than she possesses in the original story. The fact remains, however, that the movie is a massive waste of potential. It wouldn't be a problem coming from most directors who never even shot for the stars, but from such auteur, what a letdown. It's his last movie after all, so you'd expect him to leave some kind of mark. When adapting the manga from Poroporo, Takahata took the liberty to build his own environment and explore nostalgia in ways untouched by any other anime, period. It was infinitely ahead of its source material in the sense it became a product of his own, something he would be known for and a glaring representative of his talent. Kaguya is... the best adaptation of a simple tale that remains so faithful it throws away all possibilities of watching a true masterpiece. What is there to take away? As much as he tried to twist the message for modern audiences, depth is nowhere to be found. It can cause a plethora of emotions on the viewers, instill thoughts, etc, but essentially so could the original tale. That is why it was created, because of the universal appeal it carries within. But it's far from actually insightful or fresh even, given that it's so old and its core lessons have been widened to no end throughout history. The only way it could work out would be by recontextualizing the original story, perhaps through actually exploring the themes of empowerment, the importance of our origins, the conscious mortality as opposed to eternal numbness, which is probably the most interesting idea, or maybe through presenting characters who resemble human beings more than caricatures. Sadly both themes and characters are just there, signaling their own existence but lacking in actual substance. Basically, Takahata risked very little by relying on such broad likability and as a result, despite garnering approval of so many people, it feels like a shallow and conventional biopic based Oscar bait. There, I said it.