The Napping Princess. (PG.)
Directed by Kenji Kamiyama
Featuring the voices of Mitsuki Takahata, Shin’nosuke Mitsushima, Tomoya Maeno, Arata Furuta, Hideki Takahashi and Yōsuke Eguchi. In Japanese with subtitles. 110 mins.
As is their way, this latest anime is constructed from familiar elements, presented in an unfamiliar and disorientating way. This one zig zags between sci-fi, teen romance, talking teddy bears and corporate boardroom politics, all leading up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Kokone is our title character, a sleepy teenage girl who slips between a rich fantasy dream life, and an almost equally dramatic and tension filled waking life. In dreams she is the sorcerer daughter of a king obsessed with car making, whose city is being menaced by a Godzilla-like monster from the sea. To defend themselves they are building a series of giant fighting manned robots that would surely interest the lawyers of the Pacific Rim film makers. When she is awake she is trying to rescue her dad from the machinations of the car company he used to work for.
Clearly, her whole dream/ waking life balance is out of wack. Usually the dream fantasy is there to buck up drab reality: here it struggles to keep up with her real life adventures. You wonder how she could find the time to nod off with all that is going on around her.
Directed by Kenji Kamiyama
Featuring the voices of Mitsuki Takahata, Shin’nosuke Mitsushima, Tomoya Maeno, Arata Furuta, Hideki Takahashi and Yōsuke Eguchi. In Japanese with subtitles. 110 mins.
As is their way, this latest anime is constructed from familiar elements, presented in an unfamiliar and disorientating way. This one zig zags between sci-fi, teen romance, talking teddy bears and corporate boardroom politics, all leading up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Kokone is our title character, a sleepy teenage girl who slips between a rich fantasy dream life, and an almost equally dramatic and tension filled waking life. In dreams she is the sorcerer daughter of a king obsessed with car making, whose city is being menaced by a Godzilla-like monster from the sea. To defend themselves they are building a series of giant fighting manned robots that would surely interest the lawyers of the Pacific Rim film makers. When she is awake she is trying to rescue her dad from the machinations of the car company he used to work for.
Clearly, her whole dream/ waking life balance is out of wack. Usually the dream fantasy is there to buck up drab reality: here it struggles to keep up with her real life adventures. You wonder how she could find the time to nod off with all that is going on around her.
