Mini Film Review – Miss Hokusai

I have just watched Miss Hokusai; and it was alright! Directed by Keiichi Hara, and starring Anne Watanabe, Yutaka Matsushige, and Gaku Hamada; Miss Hokusai is an Anime film based on the historical Manga of the same name by Hinako Sugiura. The film is a biographical piece about the life of the daughter of the legendary Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai. I sort of don’t know what to think about this one on the whole. It features some nice sweet moments, and a small tale of tragedy at the end, but on the flipside; it is rather dull! The idea of a daughter living in the shadow of a great artist is an interesting story, but is rather non-existent in this film, only briefly talking about it here and there. The film displays some interesting techniques in the delivery of it’s 3D animation, but at other times, the animation can be jumpy and occasionally blurry. Also, it has some weird choices in the direction of it’s music. I can sort of see how nice it is to depict a mundane life in ancient Edo; but there’s no story, or drama to really captivate or interest you, and those sweet bits require a real level of patience, as they take time to happen. Its sort of like My Neighbors the Yamadas; it’s more like a collection of sketches, not comedic ones, just little chapters portraying a life; but there’s no real overall story to really be drawn into!