elyse18 - 2016-09-04 01:25:21

         Do you remember the first time you watched a movie as a child and it made you feel so happy and curious about the world, how it made you feel warm fuzzy inside and how you could just continue watching it over and over again, Kaguya-hime no Monogatari brought me back to those days it brought me back to my childhood making me feel those same happy feelings. I was surprised, I didn't really expect to love this film, I knew that the animation style was different to normal anime, but I didn't really think that the story was going to be so beautiful, or that the music was going to be so perfect, or that I would be attached to the characters as much as I did, I didn't think that I would cry. If you're not willing to watch it because of the animation then you're really missing out. I personally almost didn't watch Maguy-hime no Monogartari because of the art style, but When the film started I realized just how perfect it made the story and how much emotion it made the viewer feel. 

lolita.lindgren - 2015-11-25 23:18:00

In 2008Isao Takahata, best known for his work “Grave of the Fireflies”, announced thathe started working on a new full-length movie and in November 2013, after 5years of production “Kaguya-Hime no Monogatari” (The tale of princess Kaguya)came out.

“Kaguya-himeno Monogatari” is an adaptation of the Japanese folktale “The tale of thebamboo cutter” (also known as “Princess Kaguya”).

STORY: 9

The tale isquite popular; the story can be divided in 3 sections: beginning, life in thecapital and the ending.

In thebeginning the story follows a bamboo cutter named Okina that one day found aninfant the size of his thumb inside a shining bamboo shoot. With his wife theydecided to raise her as their own child.

This partof the story feature the growth of Kaguya-hime her early relationship and buildup her character. The story to this point is lighthearted perfectlyrepresenting the life of an infant.

During thelife in the capital the character of kaguya-hime matured and the story startsto go down a darker path. Kaguya is faced with restriction of liberty butthanks to the story of the five princes the mood is lighten. 

I don’twant to spoil the ending but I need to point out a few things. After theintroduction of the Emperor of Japan as a character the movie start to build upits emotional ending but is not the real ending of the story.

Theoriginal tale ends with the naming of Mount Fuji and the destruction of the elixirof immortality (both of this are not even mentioned in the anime so it’s not areal spoiler). I wanted to mention it because this is an adaptation and this decisioninfluence the characters especially the Emperor, basically in the movie he isrelegated to a secondary character who “breaks” Kaguya-hime, while in theoriginal story he becomes the protagonist reinforcing the importance ofKaguya’s character.

Thisdecision doesn’t really influence the quality of the anime Isao decided to endat a good point of the story and it feels completed but I personally think thatit’s important to mention.

CHARCTERS: 9

The main character obviously isKaguya and every other character supports her growth. Kaguya’s character isfully built in the movie from the start to the end it evolves based on theencounters and the environment.

That said the supporting charactersaren’t really stereotypes every character has his evolution and help the storyflow. In some cases, like the princes, the characters help to lighten the mood.

ART & ANIMATION: 8

The art style is not your usualanime style. This type of art resembles the one used in old children’s bookswith a mix of pastel and watercolors.

At first the heavy outline on thecharacters can be slightly annoying but after the first 20 minutes you will getused to it.

The lack of detail on the characterdoes not impact on the beauty of the art even in the few occasions when the drawingreverts to a sketch. The backgrounds have enough details and for the most partuse less saturated colors that let the characters stand out.

Due to the art style the animationfeels choppy at times but enables some beautiful moments like the escape fromthe palace during the party, in my opinion without the use of that particularart style you will never achieve the impact of that scene.

SOUND: 8

As per Studio Ghibli’s tradition theman behind the music of “Kaguya-hime no monogatari” is Joe Hisaishi, but thisis not the best compared to other ones that he made. With that said this isstill a fitting soundtrack and it’s pleasant to hear even as a standaloneplaylist.

A few notes on the voice actors.

 Kaguya’s voice actor (Aki Asakura) is anactress and this was her first time dubbing, she did a very good job withchanging the tone of her voice to distinguish the various phases of Kaguya’sgrowth (that’s not a quality that many voice actor have).

Okina’s voice actor (Chii Takeo) wasa famous actor and this was his second (and last) dubbing experience,unfortunately he died in June of 2012. His interpretation of the character wasalmost perfect expressing the nature of Kaguya’s father.

ENJOYMENT: 8

Personally I liked the film, first Iwas skeptical about the art style but it turned out to be good.

The movie itself is a roller coasterof emotion from joy to sadness and everything is expressed perfectly with thecombination of images and voice actors.

OVERALL: 8

I will recommend this movie toeveryone young and old (like every other studio Ghibli’s film), even for peoplewho don’t watch anime this is a great film.

I think that in the future I willdefinitely remember “Kaguya-hime no monogatari” for its art style and less forthe story.

It’s good to see Isao Takahata backwith a movie almost as good as “Grave of the Fireflies” and I hope to see many other of his works.

dach.neha - 2015-10-13 03:51:22

god. damnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn,

freddy99 - 2015-04-01 00:30:06

OK so my review from an objective standpoint is that the art was beyond brilliant, the story was compelling, and the emotions were so real it hurt, which leads into the second half of my review.
From an emotional standpoint, I hated it. So many feels. Without spoiling too much, she struggles with a terrible depression for about three quarters of the movie, and then the ending absolutely tore my heart into pieces. I was crying on and off throughout almost the entire thing. I had no idea what to expect going in, but I certainly wasn't anticipating the heart-rending journey that I ended up on.

Overall, it's about a seven. It was good, but not my favorite, even excluding the emotional piece. 

myles.ruecker - 2015-02-13 17:33:02

I got the exciting opportunity to watch The Tale of the Princess Kaguya a couple of months ago. I was so eager to watch this film because of its intriguing art, premise, and music. Not to forget that it was also Isao Takahata's first film in nearly 15 years. At least Miyazaki put out new films after Princess Mononoke, Takahata hasn't made a new film aside from this since 1999's My Neighbors the Yamadas. And I've always been a huge fan of his ability to stir up emotions inside myself that I didn't even think I had. So when the blu-ray went up for pre-order I of course made the hasty decision to import it. Somewhat irresponsible decision? Absolutely. Did I regret it? Not one bit. I couldn't wait any longer, and I knew no local theaters within a two hour drive were going to show it. It took a while to arrive, but when it did I made no hesitation to watch it right away.

But enough of that gibberish. This film brought out so many emotions in me that I felt compelled to write a review about it on here so that I could hopefully peak people's interests enough that they would seek out the film themselves if possible. So here we go. Where do I even begin? I am almost at a loss for words at how beautiful this film was. I'll attempt to describe my impressions to you, but it probably won't do the film nearly enough justice. Isao Takahata has made his masterpiece with this film. It's a masterpiece in every sense of the word. He hasn't officially announced his retirement yet, but at 79 years old, this would be the perfect film to go out on. Very rarely has any movie made me visibly emotional, but Kaguya succeeded in doing that. At moments I was laughing, and then one scene later I was immediately reduced to a sobbing mess. Movies have made me tear up before, but never full on cry. Except, of course, for Grave of the Fireflies (another film oh-so conveniently directed by Takahata). Takahata has a great understanding of human emotions not often seen by other directors. Emotions almost literally spill off the screen in his films, and Princess Kaguya is no exception. The film itself is a lovely metaphor for life itself. In that it makes you feel every emotion in the book.

Characters

You go on a journey with this strong women who constantly refuses to form into the mold that society dictates she must fit into. Kaguya is a very interesting protagonist, and you never want to take your eyes off the screen. The ways she thwarts her "enemies" are more emotional than physical, she's smart like that. The story starts out with a charming air of enthusiasm as little Kaguya explores this beautiful world, but be warned. While it offers many themes of life to ponder over, this is not what I would describe as a happy tale. As Kaguya matures, so too does the tone of the film. It gets increasingly dark in its subject matter, and Kaguya's life doesn't exactly get more uplifting. But she grows as a person, and it reminded me of my own struggles in life. When you're young, you are much more oblivious to the dark and sometimes evil world out there. And throughout the film Kaguya realizes that life without true happiness isn't really living at all. There are many lovable characters you meet throughout the film, and like any Ghibli film worth its salt, this film doesn't have any clearly defined villain either. There are definitely some less than desirable characters in there (the emperor definitely comes to mind, he was an ass), but none are outright evil. There are a lot of assholes in the real world too. Kaguya's adoptive mother and father are caring and gentle, and only want what they personally think is best for her. Even if her views of happiness don't match up with theirs. Oh, and Kaguya's handmaiden was absolutely aces (whom I eventually found was voiced in the dub by the wonderful Hynden Walch, which makes it even better).

Art and Animation

The artwork is of course a very high selling point for the film, and one of its greatest strengths. Inspired by traditional watercolor paintings and charcoal sketches from ancient Japanese scrolls, the film's emotions at many times come through in the art itself. During one particularly notable scene in the film when Kaguya escapes from the castle in an enraged fury, the animation follows suit by evolving into an erratic and wild explosion of rough charcoal lines and tones of black and grey, with a striking and ominous moon looming in the background (a symbol that is foreshadowed many times throughout the film). Another sequence involving a nobleman hunting down a dragon of legends is so fluidly drawn yet rough at the same time. It was absolutely entrancing. In fact, now that I think about it, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya is probably the only animated film that truly takes advantage of the capabilities of the animated medium. It employs its unique visual style to actually enhance the mood the film is attempting to get across, making it all the more powerful.

Sound

The soundtrack by Joe Hisaishi is possibly equally as wonderful. It only enhances the film's impact, with beautiful tracks that have stayed imprinted in my head ever since. It just feels so right. The main theme that repeats throughout the film represents the beauty of life, perfectly accommodating the film's own themes. And it doesn't hurt that it's also extremely catchy, as well as the upbeat Celestial Being music that plays during a not-so-upbeat moment during the climax of the film. There's also one more recurring track initially played at the beginning of the film that is a very simple but haunting melody that stuck with me until the end. Hearing it now having seen the film tends to bring a tear to my eye. I do believe it is some of Hisaishi's best work. We were spoiled this year with two of his soundtracks, the other for The Wind Rises. And while that film's soundtrack was great as well, I feel as though this one edges it out dimply by being so perfect for the film it's playing in. Everything is just so wonderfully timed.

I mean, come on. Just listen to this majestic shit:

Some lovely Japanese tracks are played on the koto as well, so while Ghibli's English dub (which is included in the Japanese release) is just as high quality as we've come to expect (It has James Caan!), I'd personally recommend that you watch it in its original Japanese first so you can experience the lovely singing. It's always difficult to re-dub those scenes in foreign films anyway, but Ghibli did a good job with it nonetheless.

Closing Thoughts
In closing, should you see this film? Yes. Yes, you must absolutely watch this movie as soon as it is humanly possible for you to do so. I feel like I may have been overly praising it in this review, but another part of me feels that I was only saying what need to be said of it. I wasn't exaggerating anything I said above, this film deserves every bit of praise it gets from me. Anything to get more people to watch it. And I believe it will stick with me long after I've seen it, just like all great films do. And hopefully it will stick with you as well. It will make you laugh, it will make you cry. It will make you feel human. And I respect any work of art that can make me feel that way. To describe the plot in any more detail would be to rob you from experiencing it for yourselves, so I won't do that to you. The best recommendation I can give you is to go in blind, and if you haven't read the original story yet that'd be even better. This way you'll get the full, unspoiled experience.This is indeed Isao Takahata's magnum opus, and Ghibli's penultimate achievement. I don't like to give number based ratings, but if I did I would probably give this film a 15 out of 10. As perfect as a film can get. Definitely check it out. Just make sure you have a box of tissues handy. Or two.

imccullough - 2015-01-11 19:31:18

Ever since I heard this was released in select theaters I've wanted to watch this, but after finishing it I'm not sure what to feel. Whatever I was expecting, this wasn't it.

The story follows the very traditional folktale of Princess Kaguya, a child found in a shining bamboo shoot, and all the adventures she stumbles into. The decisions made by her parents for her sake and her reaction to them are the focus of the majority of the plot while self-propagated self discovery make up the remainder. I enjoyed the honesty of her reactions and genuineness of her character.

However, the dialogue, the body language told in facial expressions and posture, and the underlying tones that carry the story leave me unsettled and sad. I feel like I came expecting talking cats and an explosion of color, and instead I got a parchment-frail fairy tale. I don't dislike that but it's different. 

All in all I'm glad I watched it, and I'll watch it again someday, but until then there's a lot to digest.

adah98 - 2015-01-09 01:09:51

                It is not a rare sight to seeanime retelling stories that have already been told in the past. Studio Ghibliis known to have adapted several old stories. We have: Howl’s Moving Castle,Arrietty and, the Ghibli – not Ghibli – anime, Ronia the Robber’s Daughter, toname a few. Kaguya-Hime no Monogatari, or the Tale of Princess Kaguya, is a newentry to this list being based off of a 10^th century old Japanesefolktale: The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter. Having been invested to several Asianfolklore stories, I was excited for an anime based off of a story that I haveheard countless times. Now I ask myself:

 Is thiscenturies old story still relevant in today’s life and are the characters oldfashioned and are not things that we should aspire to be? And how well did theyadapt it?

 Ibelieve that the story is in good hands with Studio Ghibli. And having a studioveteran, Isao Takahata as the director, there is high chances that this won’tturn sour. Moreover, this is the first movie released since Hayao Miyazaki’sretirement. It puts to question: will studio Ghibli survive in absence of thefilmmaking genius Hayao Miyazaki?

Story

                Kaguya-himeno Monogatari is about the life of a peculiar family that came to be by themost incredible of means. One day, the bamboo cutter, Okina, discovers aPrincess the size of his thumb inside a glowing bamboo sprout. His wife, Ouna,and him take upon themselves to raise this child from the Heavens. What is evenmore surprising; this little Princess grows into the size of an actual baby andshe starts to age at an incredible speed. This is a tale recounting her comingof age. It shows her adventures playing in the country side and how she growsas her world change. It becomes really intriguing for us to see how this allaffect Kaguya. We learn that all she cares at that point is playing with theboys around the bamboo forest, particularly a boy called Sutemaru, and gettinginto shenanigans in the wilderness. She loves the idea of just being alive.

 After aturn of events, she is pushed to become Princess like. She is trained by ahigher class woman the ways of being noble. And at this point, it becomesinteresting whether she will be fazed by this, will she run off or will shefind enjoyment in this new environment?

From here on out, the movie attempts to have usexperience the same feeling that’s going through Kaguya. Do they succeed atdoing so? From seeing Kaguya playing in the fields to her upbringing, we can’thelp but get attached to her. During the whole introduction, it hits thenostalgic part of ourselves and we come to get attached to her. It makes itmuch easier for us to sympathise with her. When Kaguya is faced with quite a few unpleasant situations, wefeel every inch of her anxiety. And when themovie does give her uplifting moments, it is incredible to feel as she does. And at no point does Kaguya not feel like the person whom we met playing in the fields. The strongest point about the story, the writing and the characters is Kaguya. Even when she was faced with things that isn't necessarily what she liked, she still remained solid and did not falter. There isn't a drastic change in her character even though she underwent a process in becoming more noble. Instead, we only see a more mature version of who she was at the beginning. And at that stage in the story, you notice only subtle differences and we do understand that she is changing, even if she isn't expressing anything. And it is so rewarding to see her maturing as though we were her parents.  

And a reason how this is so well done is howatmospheric it is. The whole tone that the movie sets up is needed for yourenjoyment. When there isn't much going on, there are a lot of minute details to be picked up, either from howthe backgrounds make you feel to how certain characters facial expressionschange slightly. These small elements becomes small things that you latch on to. And it is these little moments that makes the bigger onesmatter more. And I applaud the fact that the movie felt silent, matching thesilence of Life. It makes her whole coming of age a lot more genuine.

The story creates this emotional fulfillingtale and it was able to conclude with the wonderful climax that wraps everythingup, from the beginning to the end. It is an emotionally destroying endingbecause it ends feeling as though you just witnessed a life pass, year by year,and you can’t help but feel for the family that you saw grow.

The family aspect, although present, feelsunfinished. We don’t see much of how the family grew right after the storytakes its shift. But with what was given, it was enough to have us care for the climax. 

Another nitpick in this movie, it would be: therewere moments where you don’t exactly know where the plot is heading because ofhow slow it is progressing. For some it can be a bore-fest, with the lack ofimpressive set pieces or funny gags. But with this slowness in the plot, I dofeel that Isao Takahata captured the essence of how mysterious life is and howTime is important when growing up. I can’t imagine this story about the comingof age of a young girl adapted any differently. It is well written, welldirected and was masterfully executed as a whole.

Character

                Aside from Kaguya, you have Ounaas the supportive mother ready to give her all the care that she has for herdaughter. The couple doesn’t have any children, so you do feel how loving she is beinga mother because this will be her only experience as a mother in her life. And she can go to silly lengths at times in order toprotect her daughter. It is this type of quirky interactions that makes their bond feel genuine, as though they've been acting this way for a long time. Okina is the supportive father who eagerly tries to give what hethinks is best for her daughter. You feel how hard he is trying, but as the movie goes on, he comes off less as a loving father that you think he'd be. Instead he seems more like a man lusting for vanity or just plain idiotic. His motives aren't clear and he is an inherent flaw in the movie due to a lack of exposition.  

                Aside from that, as the movie progresses, you come to understandhow genuine they are towards their daughter (yes, even Okina) and it gives off a fuzzy nostalgicfeeling. It might not be the most original of parental character, but there isample amount of information for us to understand how much they do care in the end.

                Overall, the rest of the castfit the demand for us to see how they affect Kaguya and how it makes her who sheis. They are loveable and none of them seem unimportant because they are allthere for their purpose in the story. You come to understand them and it becomes quite heartwrenching to let some of the characters go, knowing how important they are toKaguya. 

That being said, they aren't more than what they are. It is easily to pinpoint some of the cast to one sentence descriptions. But they were still important for the piece.

Art and Animation       

The water colour backgrounds illustrate byKazuo Oga gives off this dreamlike feeling to the piece that works oddly wellwith this tale of nostalgia. In addition, the art style and colour palette is reminiscent ofold Japanese wood paintings. In the past, the original story of :The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, wasalways illustrated in that style, so it makes sense to have the movie based off it to look likeit. It makes the movie seem genuine and it makes us connect more with its world.

         As for theactual animation, it was of the studio Ghibli standard, which means it wasproper good. The character animation gave off a lot of personality for eachcharacter, going from seeing baby Kaguya (that was amazingly animated) to seeing a stark contrast when she learnshow to move gracefully like a Princess (it looks so beautiful). And you can see in their facial animations that the animators had put a lot of care in order to give more layers and personalities to the characters. 

And a stand out moment in the film happens inthe middle of it. There is a running sequence and the way the animation in the scene was beautiful. You felt how tormented and frantic she is. And the presence of the pencil marks added to theoverall chaos and turbulence of the scene.

Sound

          When it comes to sound, it is whatyou’d expect from any Joe Hisaishi orchestra. There is a lot of simplicity toit, but it is extremely moving. Listening to it gives off this calming feelingof how it is to live a blissful life. Moreover, the use of the koto in themovie adds a level of loneliness and emptiness when it is playing. It invokesthis realistic view on life and it is what makes certain scenes very lonelywith its simple cord strumming. And it becomes a lot more interesting when thesong is used in a different case, where it is supposed to invoke gracefulness.A notable song to note is the Go Round song that the children sing in this.Much like with the instrumental koto track, this insert song was used atdifferent times invoking different emotions. And it was perfectly placed duringthe ending; effectively destroying us in a nostalgic way. I would say that the soundtrack isn't a compliment to the story, but the story itself. 

                And a moment that I personally feel is worth mentioning is the music direction during the final scene. The music played greatly differed to the emotions of the scene. You felt sadness, but the story juxtaposes it with cheerful music. You were already sad as it is and the music greatly emphasizes your misery. 

                Should you view it dub or sub?Like with any Ghibli movies, the dub is flawless, so usually it would becomehard to pick. I recommend watching it sub for two reasons. Firstly, because ofhow much this story is engrained in Japanese folklore, it makes more sensewatching it in the original language. Secondly, the Go Round song is an important of the story. It was originally composed in the Japanese language so the melody works alot better in its original form. Moreover, you can just hear the pain and meaning behind the song in the sub. That being said, it stillsounds good, but stick with the Japanese.

Final verdict

                This movie was a surprise. I did notexpect that this movie would have had such an effect on me.It is a story abouta life journey and it was hard to let it go once it has ended. It was a sweet and I would say, perfect, movie for what it was. And seeing Kaguya grow, it creates this nostalgic feeling with me, and it hits quite close to home. I sincerely do love this movie and urge everyone to watch it. Kaguya-Hime nomonogatari proves itself still relevant today. Kaguya’s strong character isinspiring and the family issues in the movie about the lack ofcommunication is still present in life. This was a masterpiece of a movie andStudio Ghibli can still survive with their collection of talented directors. And while the animation department of the studio is currently closed down, any studios who acquires even one of their animators will have good fortune.