Netflix: from Bubble to Your Name, 5 unmissable nuggets of Japanese animation

Netflix: from Bubble to Your Name, 5 unmissable nuggets of Japanese animation

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On April 28, Bubble landed on Netflix. This animated film was directed by the director of the cult series Attack on Titan. For the occasion we offer you 5 nuggets of Japanese animation to prolong the pleasure.

On April 28, the animated film Bubble landed on Netflix! This is a noteworthy event because it was developed by a team of real big names.

First of all, the production was entrusted to Tetsurô Araki, director who was responsible for the staging of the anime Attack on Titan and several episodes of Death Note.

As for the scenario, Gen Urobuchi (Psycho Pass) took care of it. To shape the character design, the producers turned to Takeshi Obata, designer of the Death Note manga.

Everything was overseen by Wit Studio, the company behind the first three seasons of Attack on Titan. As for the soundtrack, Hiroyuki Sawano (Attack on Titan, Promare) was responsible for composing the music.

The story takes place in Tokyo, in a world awash with bubbles that have changed the laws of gravity. Cut off from the rest of the world, Tokyo has become the playground of a group of young private parkour enthusiasts from their families, whose teams compete from building to building.

One day, after a dangerous trick, Hibiki, a young prodigy known for his risky style of play, is thrown into the gravity-free ocean that surrounds the city. He is saved by the sudden intervention of Uta, a young girl with mysterious powers.

Both will then hear a sound that only they can perceive. Why did Uta join Hibiki like this? Their meeting will lead them to a revelation that will change the world.

To prolong the pleasure after the Bubble adventure, we offer you 5 nuggets of Japanese animation you must see on Netflix (excluding the Studio Ghibli feature films).

THE FATHERS OF TOKYO

Released in 2003, Tokyo Godfathers is a true masterpiece still too little known by the general public. Its availability on Netflix is ​​great news. This film, directed by the late master Satoshi Kon, can finally be seen by as many people as possible! The story takes us in the company of a gallery of crazy characters. Gin, a man in ruins, Hana, a sentimental transgender woman, and Miyuki, a teenager on the run, live on the streets.

One Christmas evening in Tokyo, the three homeless people find a child in the garbage and a key to the station locker in his crib. They then decide to find the mother of the newborn, whom in the meantime they call Kiyoko “pure child”. A formidable adventure begins for them which, through an incredible combination of circumstances, will confront them in six days1 with their respective past.

I WANT TO EAT YOUR PANCREAS

No, I want to eat your pancreas is not a horror movie! Behind this intriguing title hides a sensitive and incredibly moving work, which leaves an indelible mark on our hearts as spectators. Don’t stop at its confusing title and let yourself be carried away by the grace of this little gem without holding back your tears.

The film follows the story of Sakura, a popular and lively high school girl. Quite the opposite of one of her solitary companions who, inadvertently stumbling upon her diary, discovers that she has only a few months left to live … United by this secret, they approach and tame themselves. Sakura then makes him a proposal: to live together a whole life accelerated, the time of a spring.

AWAY FROM ME, CLOSE TO YOU

Away from me, next to you there is a little sour candy to be consumed without moderation! If the scenery isn’t wildly original, the magical atmosphere that emanates from the film will transport you easily. Plus, the animation is to die for and the characters extremely engaging. The story takes place in the city of Tokoname located in Aichi prefecture.

We follow the daily life of Miyo Sasaki, a middle school girl in love with her classmate named Kento Hinode. Despite Sasaki’s best efforts to get noticed, Hinode pays no attention to her. One day she discovers a strange mask that allows her to transform into a cat named Tarō. Thanks to this object you can get closer to the person you love. However, by dint of using it, she may not revert to her original form.

FLAVORS OF YOUTH

Produced by Comix Wave Films, the studio behind Your Name, Flavors of Youth is a true pearl of Japanese animation (in collaboration with China). The story consists of three stories that follow the fate of different characters. One remembers the taste of the rice noodles he ate in her hometown, the other of his first childhood love that he never lived to the full.

Between the two there is the one who tries to do everything to be able to be a model to take care of her little sister … These three Chinese destinies have the common point of being inhabited by regret. Did these characters really come to the end of their dream? If not, can they fix it? Sapori di youth poetically answers these questions that we all ask ourselves. Infused with nostalgia and melancholy, the work shares similarities with Your Name.

YOUR NAME

To conclude this selection of animation nuggets from the Land of the Rising Sun, how not to mention Your name ? By Makoto Shinkai, this masterpiece is one of the greatest hits in the history of the Japanese box office. And it is absolutely deserved as this film is pure marvel in every sense of the word, from the animation to the script, including the sound and musical atmosphere. We follow Mitsuha, a teenager stuck in a traditional family.

He dreams of leaving his native mountains to discover Tokyo’s busy life. She is far from imagining being able to live the urban adventure in the skin of … Taki, a young high school student who lives in Tokyo, busy between his occasional work in an Italian restaurant and her many friends. Through her dreams of her, Mitsuha literally sees herself pushed into the boy’s life to the point of believing that she is living in reality …

Everything changes when she realizes that Taki also dreams of a life in the mountains, surrounded by a traditional family… as a little girl! A strange relationship develops between their two bodies, which monopolize each other. What mystery is hidden behind these strange dreams that unite two destinies to which everything is opposed and which have never met?

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