Belle Review

[@Lonewolf360gaming]

Even though I enjoyed this movie I'll agree with you about the ending like this grown ass man not only abuses his children but physically assaults a stranger and somehow we don't get any real resolution to the situation to it,like even a cliche cops arrest bad guy scene would've atleast given me a small bit of satisfaction

[@Nightman221k]

I just think it’s insane that not one of Suzu’s friends came to help her. Not even the protective love interest friend? They could have had payoff for her being distant toward her own father who was gentle and respectful to her if he took the train with Suzu to help her face the abusive dad. He and the abusive father both lost wives tragically so it would’ve been thematically resonant.

[@alecperdeau650]

It was 2 days away to get from Suzu's town to Tokyo, by thr time Suzu got there and witnessed what happened, there would have been enough time to compile the evidence needed to put the dad away. Also, when you take away an abuser's element of fear they will crumble. Granted the movie made thst a lot more dramatic than it is in real life but its still a fact and its still a great message of courage. I feel like a lot of the issues people are having with this movie come from not looking at it deeper than what's being presented on the surface.

[@thelastwish558]

I was so upset about the ending

[@alecperdeau650]

@@thelastwish558 I assumed the best given the time it took Suzu to get to and from the city. The movie implied that given its ending.

[@celfhelp]

the dad had a bully complex, one based on fear, and when a fear-bully gets defied, they crumble and run away a large majority of the time. especially when the bully is on the other side of a screen since the film is entirely about a hopeful future for our online world, i think the message is ultimately worth the fact that it doesn't make much sense from a literal standpoint; especially given Japan's history with online bullying, the idea of not being intimidated/affected by bullies is much better than just calling the cops more similar to yoko taro, hosoda tends to weave fantasy and reality so closely that they fuse together in his work; i mean shit, 'Mirai' has a toddler literally time traveling with his grown baby sister and learning lessons that actual adults struggle to accept. it's his style, and while i LOVE it, i can understand why it's not for everyone

[@MaraLatorre]

Two things: 1. I was pretty upset to see no real resolve with the two boys at the end 2. Despite point #1, I was crying the entire time of the film, from beginning to end.

[@periandirep]

Unfortunately, waiting periods do exist for wellness checks, I came across a case recently involving a kidnapping victim in Japan. The predator's mom attempted calling the authorities multiple times, because she was scared for her life, and they told her to wait a few days before calling again. And luckily - the victim did make it out alive. Even though it took nearly a decade for her to be found / rescued.

[@periandirep]

The case is about Fusako Sano if you're interested in looking into it yourself.

[@JinxSanity]

Dang, I was really looking forward to this movie, mostly because veteran Disney character designer Jin Kim designed the virtual Belle. It looks great, but yeah the plot holes and beginning flashbacks sound like the anime storytelling choices that make the narrative confusing and often hard to follow especially with the real world as the backdrop. It indeed would had worked better as a straight up fantasy story rather than go the Sword Art Online route.

[@alecperdeau650]

Its got pacing issues but the story is solid if you actually think about the commentary being made here and see the Beauty and The Beast motif as a metaphor rather than a full on adaptation. Its not a slice-of-life movie, its using those scenes to show how Suzu's interactions online form her interactions with the people around her in real life. She's able to recognize that the Dragon is someone suffering from a form of emotional distress similar to her own. Rather than keeping that compassion to the internet while ignoring everyone else around her like your typical e-celeb, she expands that compassion to those around her. She's able to handle more self depreciating humor with her best friend Hiro, she's able to see past Luka's status as the popular girl and hear her out in her time of need when she fails to confess her feelings to Kimishi, she then later helps Kimishi follow through with accepting Luka's confession. All the empathy she and personal strength she learns online she applies to her real life. Its a story on how things like the internet can still help us for the better when used correctly/responsibly. But in order to find that you need to put more thought into it than just the surface level.

[@rougestarlight4308]

The story is fine, it's a very japanese narrative, maybe that's why it's weird and the pacing does not help

[@chanceForNotBeingRapper]

you did realize a lot of elements are put into this film, and somehow there are shallow in some ways

[@squidrose]

The abuser about to punch her at the end and her staring him down, is really hard to understand but it happens. I’ve done it myself, I’ve been there and it hit home to see that scene. I understood that scene to a deep level. Rewatching it tho, I wish they had explained it better to those that haven’t been in a situation like that.

[@Danny01474]

What's really important is how he screams in her face trying to scare her. When you see him walking down the street, he puffs himself up to look more intimidating. The entire point of that scene of her staring him down was showing she had strictly no fear of him. It's why he screams at her face and threatens to punch her; all to scare her.

[@bethanysingsmrs849]

@@Danny01474 why didnt he punch her thats what i dont get...like sure ik that if you stand infront of an abusive person and stare at them, they can feel intimidated of course, but we know that this abusive father physically beat his children, so if he was able to beat them, how come he didnt beat her? and the fact that tomos brother would of stared at the father before to protect tomo, how come the dad didnt back away then?

[@Silly_Sulky_Seli]

I think the fancy rings that appear around her when singing are subtitles, both japanese and trasulated it automatically happens for text balloons aswell

[@theresahe4181]

in the floating rings around here when she first sings. if you look closer, the small symbols are actually characters from different languages so the rings are there to show that what she's saying is being translated. words being visually quickly translated from a different language into japanese is seen a lot in the movie.

[@oddtoo1721]

That is cool! I had never noticed that.

[@12Tecpatl]

I've heard there is a waiting period for wellness checks in Korea, I think it's the same in Japan. It's very illogical but sadly it seems like Japan's government doesn't really care for mental health

[@hezureviews]

its not even just mental health though! Wellness checks are for all sorts of situations. It's for elderly people who live alone and fall over and can't call for help. It's for people that may or may not have gone missing because family members haven't heard from them in a while. You hear a neighbor screaming next door? That's a wellness check! You hear what appears to be an alarm of some kind next door? Wellness check. I still find it hard to believe police would refuse a wellness check if you had evidence that someone was in danger.

[@Nightman221k]

If someone were getting violently abused by someone putting their life in immediate danger there should be a way to have immediate intervention though right?

[@alecperdeau650]

@@hezureviews well, its more complicated than that. Its the same reason why children clearly being abused aren't immediately swept up into the foster care system. A lot of times kids who are drug infested homes and/or abusive homes often remain where they are because the foster system is so overflooded with kids that there's nowhere to put them. Japan has a real problem when it comes to this and the director called attention to it. Its not easy for us in the west to believe but its sadly true.

[@alecperdeau650]

@@Nightman221k that's the thing, the government agencies put in charge of these types of things do not care. There are a ton of kids who remain in drug infested and abusive homes because they have nowhere to put them with how overcrowded the system is already. In Japan its even worse because you have people who just do not want to have children of their own. Why do you think Japan's birthrates are so low? People don't want to have kids let alone adopt them. Kei and Tomoe's situation is probably a lot more common than people would believe.

[@animezilla4486]

@@alecperdeau650 I understand what you're saying there was even a couple of anime that dresses this issue about child abuse 1. When they cry an anime from Funimation/Crunchyroll there was a segment where a little girl was being abused by her uncle the kids in her classroom try talking with child protective service and to do something about this but they were incompetent and didn't really care this shows you how I mess up the system is in Japan. 1. Erased this anime deals with time travel has a main character trial back in time to help one of his fellow classmates which is also a girl being abused by her mother but unlike the last anime I mentioned this one has more of a happy ending but the one thing I didn't like it was that the mother was never put in jail

[@Phanheist7490]

You weren't kidding on them fumbling the bag on the pacing of the story. Also it's great to see your videos again, Hezu, it's always a blast to watch. I really enjoy your reviews because it's a really good deep dive and your points are always very organized.

[@alecperdeau650]

The story is solid if you look at it for what its trying to comment on and look beyond the surface level. The pacing is what makes it fall apart.

[@Phanheist7490]

@@alecperdeau650 oh that's what I meant, I forgot to add pacing. I tend think quickly and skip words at times when I type

[@alecperdeau650]

@@Phanheist7490 there's a lot of things that could have fixed the pacing. But the story and the messages its trying to get across are very good and important to the technological age. The trailer alone conveyed that the movie was going to be a commentary on parasocial relationships and a character's journey of self discovery through it. I will always admit fowl on the pacing. But I think too many people are overlooking the actual story.

[@Phanheist7490]

@@alecperdeau650 I agree

[@alecperdeau650]

@@Phanheist7490 glad I'm not the only one. I just wish more people would give the film a chance with good faith.

[@kaijupark]

i really would've loved to see more of Peggie sue, her crying out for Belle to continue to sing then herself singing to the song honestly moved me.

[@rhett8-u1n]

I didn't know how exactly, but this a Mamoru Hosada film, so I knew SOMETHING was gonna go wrong in this movie. It's how his movies play out for me; a solid premise, a potentially great story, and for a while you're thinking "Yeah, this ride''s gonna be great". But eventually, something will go fundamentally wrong with the story or characters, that when the end comes I'm thinking "what a waste of potential". I'll opine that the Girl Who Leapt Through Time is the closest he's come to having a perfect film. At least the 3rd act weirdness has somewhat of an explanation behind it.

[@pancakesiguess]

this is what exaclty i thought when i finished the movie thank goodness! i wasnt the only one that thought this was a waste of potential

[@Micgrol]

@@pancakesiguess I have to agree. I enjoyed this film despite its problems but its ending could have been better.

[@OrangescoutAnime]

He has great work wolf children and summer wars were excellent films

[@Homodemon]

Is because The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is not his own original screenplay, is adapted from a popular light novel

[@aurawry]

I think a lot of people put emphasis on the main character’s realization of why her mother did what she did, and I get that, but man I have no idea how the people that like this movie overlook that message’s delivery.

[@jeffreychandler8418]

I mean... I didn't overlook it. Having been in that situation, it was very clear "because you can care for other people, just because".

[@nekoninachan16]

GAH I'm so glad I'm not alone in thinking this movie was a mess. Like the music was nice and it looked beautiful overall, but oof... that story and pacing made it really hard to watch. I'm glad you were able to put into words exactly how I felt about this movie lol love your videos!!!

[@LadyOMyth]

I haven't seen the movie yet, but I think I have a good idea as for the answer to one of your questions. For the father and why he leaves his fist in the air, I think it's because of her lack of reaction towards him. A lot of times, with abusers, they get a lot of their willingness to continue to abuse and hurt people by the physical signs that they're hurting them. The fact that, while she's visibly bleeding, Suzu just keeps a straight face, throws him off. If she showed fear, that she was afraid of him, then he'd feel like he has dominance over her, just as he does with his kids, but that's not what happened. Her not reacting shows how he essentially has no power over her.

[@alecperdeau650]

Exactly. Take away an abuser's element of fear and they lose all power.

[@Jesei1211]

That’s some bs fairytale reasoning. A little bit of starring was gonna bring the abuser to cower in fear if only victims knew that. 🙄

[@alecperdeau650]

@@Jesei1211 not really. Abusers that base their power on fear have been shown to lose interest in their targets once they lose the dopamine hit they get out of their victim's fear. Tomoe demonstrated this too when he just dropped limp on the floor when his dad was gonna beat him. Kei took all the abuse for him and it showed.

[@goosegas2087]

I feel like the video game concept could work... if this were a tv show. Tv gets to explore the world and flesh out concepts, while movies are more limited. If they really wanted a one time movie, they should have made the world more grounded and real or just a mock fantasy world where the rules are self explanatory.

[@NameName-yj7lp]

YES- I love this movie and all but this as a 10 ep thing would have worked out better

[@SilentTrip]

This would have been so better if they went full fantasy no slice-of-life with this movie

[@blueotter5954]

with a huge plot twist near the end!

[@jaredarenas7542]

Hugely agree. While a lot of people find the Ruka and Kamishin confession to be funny and entertaining, it really shouldve been taken out to focus more on the VR stuff. Same goes with the Shinobu plotline and abused kids

[@kiranalarasati2496]

I do wanna say that U has many refrenceses to previous movies Mamoru Hosada made like the two whales AND the whole virtual world from Summer Wars as well.

[@arlekino0792]

And scene by the river, with sunset lightning. Yeah totaly Toki wo kakeru shoujo. Oh, and Shinobu staring at Suzu because he knows her secret, TOTALY Toki wo kakeru shoujo.

[@vanveleca]

Honestly it really does sound more like an isekai series rather than a VR one I was expecting this to be similar to Summer Wars (which was also incredibly unrealistic for MMO games) but this was just straight up a "transported to another world" story with a bunch of technologic mumbo jumbo thrown in for aesthetics Rather than VR, maybe this story would've worked as a mirror dimension story? Like Suzu somehow finds a way to travel to another world filled with people who are sort of similar to people she knows in real life but different in shape and form. She gets invested in this world much more than the one she comes from and the people close to her become concerned and try to pull her back in before she completely forgets about the real world she came from.

[@alecperdeau650]

It sounds like you completely missed the point of Summer Wars too. The story was meant to be a cautionary tale about over relying on the internet/cloud drive technology for everything and how it could be used against us in horrific ways because of it. We will have to approach that problem sooner rather than later as technology continues to evolve. And the solution begins with recognizing that there's a human being behind each keyboard and using the vast reach of communication the internet can provide to face these problems together as the climax proved. These movies are saying a lot through their metaphors and symbolism but you need to think deeper than surface level to full understand and appreciate them.

[@vanveleca]

@@alecperdeau650 yeah, but it also played in a setting about a MMO game that is absolutely bananas and for the most part didn't follow real MMO logic. I can get the theme but the setting and world building makes no sense for anyone who has actually interacted with media and/or technology to online gaming and digital VR chat worlds Belle in particular seemed to have been essentially just a story about another world rather than a VR space and online interactions/influencers I still like the film but I have to agree with the criticisms in the video that hightlight just how loose and badly expanded upon U is

[@confusedcabal342]

It’s a shame that such beautiful-looking film has such shoddy writing. Great review, and I can’t wait to see what you do next!!

[@Danny01474]

It's not shoddy, most of this video is simply a testament to both the culture clash and to the creator's inability to grasp all the details shown throughout the movie. Like, 90% of the criticisms are unwarranted if you pay enough attention to the movie. The only one that could be arguably true is the pace, but the pace is irrelevant because what's important are the events and the order in which they happen.

[@bethanysingsmrs849]

@@Danny01474 but a lot of the events dont make any sense

[@miranda-zoyajones2695]

I absolutely loved this movie and I have pushback on most of your thoughts but Thank you. You have definitely inspired me to make my own review. 1. Studio Ghibli are always masters of SOFT worldbuilding and that is often why people watch these films the story is ok but the animation is masterful and inspires childlike wonder. Also, the muted, lackluster, real-world could intentionally amplify her isolation and depression to the viewer. 2. I think it is shared grief and empathy that fuels Suzu /Belle's fixation with the beast, it was never romance and this is confirmed by the lyrics of Lend Me Your Voice which is Suzu saying "I have been where you are. Don't be ashamed anymore because I love you" which is exactly what a suffering child needs to know that their pain is real, that they will be affirmed, that they will be secure. It is a love song but more of empathy and comfort to be near to the brokenhearted. never romance which is one of many ways this film is a reversal of the original tale.

[@miranda-zoyajones2695]

Also FYI what is translated as police in the English dub is actually Child protective services in Japanese. This makes the 48 hour waiting period make a lot more sense.

[@soulrecords857]

I saw this movie in theaters and my big takeaway was: the music is fantastic in Japanese AND English (which shocked me just how well the translation/vocals worked) and easily had some of my favorite songs of the year, especially A Million Miles Away. That scene in general was breathtaking and the best of the movie. But man, did I find the plot and pacing (especially during the 1st act and very end) to be horrific! This movie had some genuinely good stuff in it (already mentioned the soundtrack and everything to do with the canoe boy (even that ridiculous confession scene)) but to me, most of the movie felt it was either speeding through what could’ve been important character building moments or dragging slow through the metaphorical mud. And I think the movie would’ve been better if it focused on Suzy’s rise as a singer and her further withdrawing from the real world instead of being a half-baked beauty and the beast homage/mystery/50 other subplots.

[@merakiabomination593]

It feels like they took some stuff from Summer Wars, The whale being the biggest one can think of

[@Nightman221k]

My first comment to my friend I saw this in the theater with after it was finished was, “So, NONE of Suzu’s friends thought she might need back up traveling to apprehend the abusive adult man?” Seriously, what the fuck? The movie had amazing songs and beautiful artwork and good characters but the plot was not up to par with Mamoru Hosada’s other films. I still love the movie and anticipate rewatching it but U was just really shallow. All we see is people floating in circles and watching concerts and besides that it was just the Beast’s castle. The virtual world was just not given much exploration at all. With the romance they wanted it to be vague if she would consider the handsome friend-boy her eventual love interest or the Beast (who had a romance with her in U). I feel like that anecdote one of Suzu’s mother’s friends said about writing a love song for a boy much younger than her was supposed to be a parallel to Suzu doing the same for the Beast but it was left very vague. That livestream scene will never not look ineptly written to me. It would’ve been such an easy fix to say that everyone found out he was the beast and that’s why it went viral but they got some reason had that not happen. I mean it was the tail end of the film so why not just have that happen as we never have a scene of Beast on U again?

[@alecperdeau650]

Okay, I'm 15 minutes into this review. While I understand why so many people have issue with the pacing, I am going to have to politely disagree about a lot of things talked about thus far. 1) The scene where Suzu looks at her phone and sees all the different versions of her avatar were not different concerts, they were people remixing Gales of Song to a different style of music and changing her attire accordingly. Hiro even told her that in the following scene when she asks Suzu why she's popular and Suzu answers "Because my songs are getting so many remixes?". The mosaic formed from this is very symbolic of online fame for any sort of creative. You have your image and work put through a million different filters which can distort how you are seen and who you really are. Suzu is a mousey girl and far from the angelic diva in the mosaic; she only wanted to be able to express herself through her passion of singing and the fame/hate online is severely overwhelming for her. That's the point of it. 2) The movie's full title is Belle: The Dragon and The Freckled Princess. The significance of this is because in a vast majority of Asian cultures, freckles are seen as a cosmic flaw implemented on the body so those people with freckles are often seen as unattractive. Hence the reason when Suzu first logs on she has her looks shamed. A majority of the users are Japanese and find her avatar unattractive because of the exaggerated freckles and face marks. 3) It makes total sense to have Justin as the online villain with large amounts of corporate sponsors. If you observe the last 6-8 years of online culture wars and especially during the Summer of Love 2020, you'd see hundreds of corporations throwing their brands and sponsorship at online activists regardless of whether they used the funds for good or not. Justin is the unholy union of a Reddit mod and a blue check Twitter activist. He leads by cult of personality, speaking with all the hollow words of justice that gets him praise online to achieve sponsors out of corporations that merely want to get brownie points by supporting perceived good causes when the people who lead them are often corrupt self-serving individuals. 4) The part where Kei and Tomoe pop up in the charity list is admittedly a bit hard to pick up on but there is a reason for it. It points out a real problem with people using children to abuse welfare systems and charity programs to gain money. Considering how unhappy Kei and Tomoe look with their dad in the interview, its subtle enough to hint that something is wrong and they will play into the story. 5) The child abuse theme is a Japan centric issue but I can understand why its nonsensical to a western audience. Its an issue the director called out with this movie. I will give you the fact that the pacing is a huge turn off with the movie, but to say its plot and story are bad is objectively wrong in my opinion. A movie can handle a lot of themes at once by layering them with a core theme. Belle does this excellently by using Beauty and The Beast as a metaphor to explain internet toxicity and the growing amount of responsibility that we will have to come to terms with our parasocial relationships. I'm sorry for coming off as overly defensive in this comment before finishing the video but I think that you really only took things at face value and didn't put deeper thoughts into what the movie is trying to say.

[@rougestarlight4308]

THIS!! OMG THANK YOU

[@alecperdeau650]

@@rougestarlight4308 I still need to finish the review and I have a feeling that I'm gonna have a lot more to say lol. 😅

[@ansi1516]

You explained it perfectly, I agree with you 100%

[@mashuproductions3223]

Agreed

[@HiImDaisy]

I disagree with your statement that the poster “took things at face value.” because this movie doesn’t put in the effort to present its ideas well. While the ideas are THERE they aren’t organized well enough.

[@lizafootfor5471]

Anime has a of way of showing rather telling. The film was a bit longer than wolf children and the boy and the beast. While I admit it isn't perfect like Spirited Away because of either film rewrites or C19, I still like Belle for its song, theme and messages 😓🙂

[@kofinart]

Okay so here's the explanation as to why things happen the way they do, and why Belle requires a 2nd and possibly third viewing: (KZbin deleted my last explanation for some reason) The Character Creation System: It's not just Biometric data U creates your character from, it takes photos of other people and smashes them together. (Hence the scene where Luka asks Suzu to take a photo) The pain system: Because U takes your biometric data between your real body and character body, when Suzu falls over and the camera pans to her phone screen, you see a red dot on Belle's head indicating pain, this is also why beast's bruises show up on his back. Everyone's Character's in U: The choir women's characters are shown on their phone screens toward the climax of the film. Luka's character shows up when Suzu is texting her and has a saxophone because she plays a sax irl Kamishin's character shows up briefly with Luka's during a Million Miles Away. Hiroka's is seen throughout the movie. Beast's and Angel are Tomo and Kei. Tomo being Suzu's very first fan. The Spinning words whenever they sing: Those are lyrics panning around them. Why Kei and Tomo's father ran: He possibly realized that people may be watching him, due to being sent the video proof that he was abusing his children. Kei and Suzu's relationship: There is a light novel with a little more detail of the same name from the director himself. He states that their foreheads touching represent that they're lovers, and thus are canon. Suzu is 17, Kei is 14 (His age revealed in the Japanese translation) Shinobu figuring out Belle's Identity: When Suzu first created Belle, she states "Well, Suzu means Bell in Japanese" Like most people who are unoriginal with names and characters in MMOs, Shinobu figured out the obvious and struck two synapses in his brain. A Million Miles Away and it's double meaning: It's not just a song to bring Kei back, but it's her "I want" song, it's her grieving moment for her mother, that's "A Million Miles Away" and that she wants her back, which is why Suzu raises her hands out to the sky when she sings "come back to me", because she wants them back. "The Dragon is my hero" scene: Tomo calls the dragon his hero because Kei literally protects him from their abusive father. If you look closely when Tomo says this, he glances at Kei who's brooding in the back.

[@elusivo3347]

If I was in charge of aspects of the film, I would rename U as U-Topia which can be a play on the word “utopia” and the fact that this virtual realm is basically a place of escapism as Suzu was able to sing once more once she entered. By naming it U-Topia, there would be hypocrisy and discrepancy like hatred and bullying, internet trolls and much more negativity within U-Topia. Justin and the others overseeing this would try and keep up their image in vainglory and not deal with all the negativity in the realm, U-Topia is nothing but a fancy place with internet trolls harassing online users

[@16JPE]

I think the best take I heard was in the special features of the blu-ray for belle, it’s like Suzu is getting into a Gundam or giant robot and testing the waters seeing what she can and can’t do. That’s why she starts singing.

[@MrUsoutlaw]

Fun facts: You dont have to wait 24 hours to report some one missing. and it doesn't take 30 seconds to trace a call. both of these trope where invited to create drama in TV and Movies

[@CrystalDragen]

......So there are technically "mods/guardians" Its the whales. which you only would have noticed if you were like me and obsessed over Summer Wars (The superior vr world imo) which is why they could restore Belles appearance. But yeah my friend and I watched the film and it felt more like an art piece than a film we spent half the time screaming over the nonsense the movie(because there are so many weird/cluttered points) and the other half coming up with ways to fix it. For example The Beast is heavily liked by kids. why? The Duels. Have a majority of the duels occur because he sees these adults bullying little kids(a major trigger for obvious reasons) so he goes and beats the heck out of them. This can tie into the beast having a castle. Its a reward by the whale mods for his heroic actions and the lil fairy sprites are some of the kids he saved and use the castle as a safe place to hangout and play. Kids also are kinda terrible at keeping secrets. And thats how they find the entrance of the Castle. Why did Abusive Dad flee from Suzu? Hammer down on the she reminds him of the "resembles dead mom" point. So first we don't get a reason why the Mom dies, so in our version its hinted they had an argument(maybe she felt he was overworking their eldest/was pushing the angel boy to be "more normal" and she just wanted them to be kids) then she leaves in a fit of rage to cool off/buy groceries for dinner and gets hit by a car. Boom abandonment issues for Ryuu(he loves his mom she kept the peace but left them and died ) and Issues with the Dad( Needs to have the perfect image. Instead of respecting his sons boundaries/grief tries to "force" them to be happy/normal and starts beating them.) Making the Ryuu and his dad the aggressive foils to Suzu and her Dad. The confrontation then happens at the park/in front of some rose bushes, the moms favorite flowers. The petals scatter around her as Suzu stands up to confront him(tying into her dress that scatters flowers to the audience the flowers a symbol of her breaking through the gales of winter no longer protecting herself but others) and just for a moment, he sees his dead wife looking back at him and we the audience finally get to see the unbroken picture of the mom but it then flashes to how she looked like before she left and then overlapping with Suzu with the same fierce determined look in her eyes. We get some internal monologue asking why their eyes are the same and hear some dialogue of the moms. The silence is finally broken by Angel boy asking for a certain meal dinner but the line is overlapped with the Moms voice. Abusive Dad finally has the weight of his sins overwhelm him and he leaves unable to bear the past. Backtracking a bit at one point in the film we thought the little girl the mom died for would actually turn out to be the popular girl, who maybe went through an ugly duckling transformation and thats why she didn't recognize her/her family moved to the city or were perhaps on vacation when it happened so they don't see each other again till highschool and thats why there was an awkward tension with popular girl trying to be friends with her but also being bad at it. She had always wanted to find her again and thank her. So instead of bland love interest supporting Suzu in the climax to sing, popular girl gives her the encouragement needed. Saying how it was Suzu's mom who inspired her to be a kind person. Tying into he moms belief of selfless acts of kindness making the world a better place. So then to finish the film she arrives back...with the boys who each have a bag with them. They come back to this big greeting and they see all these people who care about them and obviously all the Aunties fuss over them(Maybe one of them is actually a foster parent and the boys will live with one of them). Suzu's Dad appears gives vague supportive words and then its Suzu who days "hey Dad lets have dinner" and then we have the supporting background chime in on stuff they want to eat(lets make it a potluck!) and we can end on the same scene of them all walking down the river happily with the breeze curling around her and she smiles at the sky.

[@CrystalDragen]

Sorry for any weird jumblness lol I have no idea why I ever think writing essentially a fix it fic at 1am is ever a good thing

[@anngoro1119]

Amazing 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻! I love your rewrite!!!

[@Kakuyawolf3456]

You wrote a better story here then what ever the movie did

[@OrisR]

@@CrystalDragen Just like You, I think Kei and Tomo's father was scared of Suzu because she looks like the two kids's passed away mother so I imagined something like this: Suzu: Tomo-kun! Tomo: Belle! *They run and hug eachother* Kei: Are You Belle?! I'm not sure B-but... *Suzu Hugs him along with Tomo... Suddenly he remembers the embrace from Belle back when she danced with him as Ryu* *The kids's father arrives* Him: So you're the brat who uploaded that video, huh? *All three are still hugging and they kneel down* Him: Don't You dare to destroy this family did You hear me? You brat! *He says this as he scratches Suzu's face* Suzu: *stands up and faces him* Him: Aren't You gonna Say anything? *As he is about to punch her* *A thunder strikes in and for a brief moment we see Kei and Tomo's mom on Suzu's face* Him: *Cowards and leaves because Suzu ressembles Tomo and Kei's passed away mom* Kei: S-so You really are Belle! ... I'm gonna fight and become even more stronger Suzu: You let My heart soar away from the fear chains that once tied it *Kei and Suzu bonks their head gently* Kei: I love You, Belle Suzu: *Smiles and closes her eyes* Tomo: Belle, you're amazing, You're beautiful *They all three hug once again* Everything would be just like you've described and I love the idea of the 9 AI being AS instead it would make the burnt down of Ryu's castle even more catastrophic, if You ever want to see what I have for that scene reply... Or not, it's okay

[@CrystalDragen]

@@OrisR Yes!!!!!!! :D

[@Wynntersenk6017]

Honestly I think the relationship with Suzu and Kei is ambiguous because he’s 14 and she’s 18. I firmly am in the camp that these two could end up together eventually, however, the side guy who she has a crush on is probably the intended romance. But, I hate it, and I think that the side crush guy was probably the weakest side character. She doesn’t get a concrete romance though, so in the end it’s up in the air.

[@saludsinfiltros6854]

I want to watch it with my mother and she also pointed out the anticlimatic climax, we would have expected the best to even be her father who she seemed to despise until the very end. It's like Hosoda tried to tell so many things that it turned out kinda messy: how to regain ur voice, romance, coming of age, children's abuse, fake World vs Real World. A real missed oportunity.

[@CDHfilms]

The only thing that bothered me is how they never explain how diving into that virtual world works. She just puts on those earpieces and just like that she magically jumps from one place to another. How does she see what's happening?? She's not unconscious like the way they do in S.A.O. Do those things send messages and signals to her brain and trick her eyes? They just cut from one world to another. I guess the writers don't think its important.

[@OtioseFanatic]

As someone who has been off and on of secondlife for over a decade I’ll just point out that full blown porn is definitely allowed on adult sims, and the “adult nightclub” often complete with full blown paid “escorts” is the single most common form of player owned land. Secondlife had a full blown economy as well, fueled by the Linden Dollar (L$) that is paid for with real world money that gets traded in game for goods and services that are entirely player driven and/or created and can even be cashed out for real money. It’s basically how Linden Labs is still in business today. Also, despite all of the rules you listed, Linden Labs essentially leaves the players to govern themselves. Any sim worth its salt will have player admins or mods with administrative access to group and parcel settings or services. Linden Labs themselves essentially will not get involved, at all, unless not doing so would cause them to possibly revive a lawsuit. This basically boils down to cases of PayPal/credit card fraud. And when they DO get involved, there is no investigation. Instead it’s a carpet permanent ban to all involved, perp and victims alike, with no chance of appeal. For a while it was popular for hackers to make a burn account and hide behind a VPN and steal like, around $20 worth of linden dollars (in the ballpark of L$ 4000) and just go around to sims they don’t like and distribute a pittance worth of money around randomly via tip jars or direct payments (because if someone pays you in L$ you cannot decline the transaction) and then when someone reports the fraud, everyone who got even a single linden dollar from the transaction, as each dollar is tracked, is permanently banned. I’ve seen entire sims go dead because of this. Second Life is basically a lawless wasteland and if I had the money for a VR headset I’d have jumped ship to VR chat years ago.

[@eolendes6432]

15:58 The scene is much funnier if you think Suzu is actually the embodiment of some eldritch god and has telepathically channelled the power of her overlord into the abusive father's mind, making him shit his pants in fear.

[@Nightman221k]

LMAO

[@mtosta2861]

I enjoyed the animation, but the story feels like it was written by a huge committee, trying to please everyone and hit all the right notes... I recall the trailers and posters making it seem way more “cyberpunk-ish” than what we saw, not the 1st bait-&-switch experienced here. This could have been sooooo much better...

[@RandomYTUser0]

I really missed you so much hezu

[@blackrosesthorn9451]

For the entire last leg of the movie I was 100% sure that Gaston was the abusive dad but then. He just. Wasn't. Oh well, why tie these plot threads together when you could just not do that.

[@teentraveler1790]

WHAT!? It's already in theaters!? Why haven't- I gtg and come back to watch this vid in a later day. I'ma take my whole fam to the theater.

[@teentraveler1790]

Aw man it was since January. Oh well, nothing a bit of renting can't fix.

[@The-Random-Hamlet]

In setting they might very well use the U technology for warfare. The thing is that's not the focus of the story so it's not brought up. That's my only criticism though so a solid breakdown.

[@theocaram5155]

"Why didn't they mention 9/11 in Turning Red?"

[@a.t.trujillo9970]

I agree that it is way too convenient that if they did somehow easily found out who the Beast was like he was way too easy they were having such a hard time and how is it so easy to find the video that had the Beast true identity on it and also the angels true identity on it

[@Truffs_Stuff]

Your content is really easy to watch - started with your latest Helluva Boss video and I'm on a binge now! Thank you 😄

[@bob9392]

Yes she had return from the dead

[@dangernoodlegrewlegs5929]

The whole world boilding section can be explained by simply saying "go watch Summer Wars" accept the police sistem and the building

[@angelspeaks6555]

I finished watching this a few days ago filled with so much expectations bc it received so much praise and i loved Mamoru’s previous movies so what can go wrong?! I understand that this entire movie is about Suzu’s character development and her getting to understand why her mom would give up her life for a stranger. Eventually i got that but while watching the movie, I was overwhelmed with the introduction of so many characters who should’ve been more fleshed out but were just used as plot placeholders to be conveniently used when need to. So inevitably I was left with a bad taste in my eyes because other people’s trauma aren’t yours to selfishly used to make yourself feel like a better person. (Which was the entire point of Beast’s monologue of people saying they’ll help but never solves anything)Bc at the end, she left the two children alone with their abuser, idk what else could’ve happened cause they didnt show us. Tldr: pretty movie and a beautiful, soul sucking plot that was terribly executed

[@hikothealien2758]

SUZU IS 17 AND THE BEAST IS A 14 YEAR OLD KID, I looked it up I thought the kid was her age!

[@rougestarlight4308]

Ofc he's younger, they say so in the movie

[@thelastwish558]

Suzu assessing U while running confused me so much as well

[@Грибочек-э5о]

Well, about the relationship between Bell and Dragon. Maybe the translation I saw the movie with was different from English version, but there was a moment after almost-kiss-scene, when Suzu said that she realised Dragon was a child at that moment because of the look in his eyes. I guess she had a crush on him before (probably just because of all fairytale atmosphere and that mystery-guy cliche) but after she knew, aim just was to find his true identity to help. I may be mistaken but that's how I remember it so there was no controversy for me.

[@RubyGalaxyYT]

From the vid it seems that this movie was trying to emulate some semblance of feeling and the style of Beauty and the Beast with it going through the plot points but not really connecting them in a cohesive way and only going part way with including original ideas. Story is King and if the story sucks the movie sucks. Tropes are a just markers of what a story has or what direction it's characters and they story they drive are going to be, but if you just place tropes in the story just for the sake of them the story will just feel hollow and undercooked, this is just a movie following the tropes of the original* (*disney adeptation should be here) without doing anything new (edit: new as with regards with the original story or dinsey adeptation wha new ideas the movie tries to do is very undercooked and couldn't focus), it doesn't work as an apaptation as explained by Hezu, and not as a retelling like Maleficent. What a shame that this pretty looking movie was just that, pretty, as a series of music videos with just the virtual world it would have been recived better, see Mystery Skulls, despite having no dialouge it still tells a story of it's own and is well remembered for it's art and animation. (Additional thoughts: The way they "resolved" the abuse plot is kinda disgusting, letting the abuser off the hook, if we don't see it on screen or confirmed by the text, in this case the characters talking, then all the audience is left to take away from is: the abuser got no punishment for his actions or any therapy for the kids or even the father aside from this contrived sudden guilt strike, audiences aren't going to be receptive to that and it makes the incusion of an abuse subplot come off as the writter putting it in just for shock value. Abuse shouldn't be taken as lightly as or solved like in Belle did. The community should have travelled together to confront the abuser, and the kids be adopted by the 5 ladies that's a better and more realistic way this plot can be solved.)

[@shinbeet.5708]

You seem to place a lot of emphasis on how the world of U operates. A lot of Japanese stories and media, particularly movies which have only a few hours to worldbuild and usually make their settings take a backseat for the story itself. Whimsical or wacky worlds which play on the rule of cool rather than real world comparisons are not uncommon.

[@bethanysingsmrs849]

is it supposed to be like a u die in virtual world u die irl kidn of thinf cuz they never explained that? cuz like why was the beasts castle such a big deal if it was a virtual world, why did it matter if the beasts castle was desroyed and why does belle and the beast worry about getting hurt in the world? is physical pain in the virtual world something u feel irl?

[@ZodiacLives]

Heyo! I'm a fan of your content I'm just really bummed you didn't like the story. I agree the world building is the weakest point of the movie and it's a little hard to follow because they don't annouce the time skips but It's also not the focus of the story so why would they waste time explaning the ins and outs of the VR world it if they only have two hours to show? Sorry I commented to complain I just really liked the movie, i found it really touching but maybe i'm biased.

[@Silver_Sonic_23]

26:52 I don't know where this suit came from, but I want to see more of it.

[@sethledesma8106]

I kinda have a theory that Peggie Sue is actually the girl who Suzu's mom saved from the overflowing river. Also (18:50) the movie did mention that it takes place in 2025. So maybe they have that advance tech.

[@Nunez0527]

I thought the the same thing!

[@sofiavalerio41]

Omg I was fully inspecting you making a short rewrite of this movie but either way welcome back from the grave

[@tavvyprods1275]

As much as I loved Belle, I can agree with you that the climax was a certainly a let down. So I’ve decided to rewrite it. I figured that instead of Suzu just going on her own, I figured that some of her friends could tag along to help, especially the girl Suzu’s mother sacrificed herself to save who’s now a grown teenager. When they comfort the boys and come face-to-face with the father, the big encounter will take notes from Kermit’s final confrontation with Doc Hopper from The Muppet Movie ( kzbin.info/www/bejne/l3m7qambf7l9pac ), where here instead of Suzu staring into the violent father’s soul after he tore off some of her cheek, scaring him off, Suzu and co. tell off the father for his actions, try making him explain why he’s doing all this to his sons and try convincing him that there could still be a chance of repentance and goodness inside him. Though I can’t say if our heroes succeed in making the father realize the vile man he’s become, I will say that everything soon works out and they take Kei and Tomo back to Suzu’s home town with them where they celebrate and sing together. Do you think this ending could’ve made your experience much better?

[@clichedtopic4363]

The best name for a character. Justin /j And no policing? We don't know the age limit? U IS VRC /j

[@canaryqueen4050]

I love her friend she seem like the funnies character in the in the in the whole tire movie

[@FG-tu4fq]

I think the seen where the step dad backing away from Suzu was supposed to establish that if he were to hit someone's teenage kid, he'd be in bigger trouble.

[@CosmotheSeedrianfan]

Oh yeah she's back baby!!!!!

[@peonyflowerking]

Although it has it problems I still love it, it so beautiful honestly I would've want more but it okay I still love it. It has a lot of potential honestly and I really want it to be more expand. But oh well.

[@dragonetafireball]

I saw this in theatres and some people who where clearly to used to viewing all fights in terms of DBZ power scaling talking about how the dad could’ve totally whipped the floor with the kids.

[@agnesteodocio746]

you dont know how much i have re-watch this

[@171QA]

There’s a lot of ambiguity in this film. I feel like people are meant to fill in the blanks.

[@atlusfox1531]

You might have missed it but the the show was leaving clues about who the beast is through out.

[@Wynntersenk6017]

The whales are the actual mods from what I can tell, but they’re super hands off and don’t do anything unless you earn their favor through movie magic or whatever.

[@hooddaddy7124]

ligit the ONLY things i like about the movie is the singing, and the Character designs, and even then not all of them 😂

[@C.D.G.1]

Rogal Dorn:” I suspect that he was high on narcotics.”

[@kawaiigothmoth6238]

18:50 I think they expected us to go "this is anime anything is possible"

[@SDM-Zone]

I will say Japanese people write and design stories about games without ever touching a computer in their life. In general most games in Japanese media operate on bullshit deus ex machina style everyone has this personal attribute that makes them badass but the main character is extra badass for no reason.

[@ladyjinx]

Fun fact the director of mamoru hosoda he also made the first Digimon movie and he did work on the original series and he also made Summer Wars

[@PetitTasdeBoue]

More like he did the Digimon Movie then went "I want to do it with my own universe" and did the same movie without licenced characters and paf, Summer Wars was born

[@zero-rn6vw]

the dragon is 14 years old by the way, while suzu is 17. this made me really uncomfortable because a lot of intimate moments between her and the beast look more than platonic...

[@StasherDragon]

5:35 yes, by chance, but it makes sense when you realize the kid is the one who called the beast his hero.

[@apexlex]

Don't know what this is, but i rarely do in this channel and always end up enjoying the videos.

[@spritemon98]

Anime beauty and the beast

[@plushcanvas8652]

4/10? bro your opinion is invalid this movie received a 14 minute standing ovation at a film festival

[@hilkie1311]

Hello, can you review 'the Prince if egypt'? I think that would be intresting to hear.

[@annabeinglazy5580]

I havent watched the movie but based on the Trailer, aethetics and your telling of it I think you might have missed the Point of the movie. To me it feels like you get Hung Up on Plot Logic and semantics, but this Looks Like a movie that uses symbolism over Plot accuracy. That would explain the odd world building and all. You wouldnt have a Ton of dialogue between the best and suzu because you See them interact and See their Connection (the ballroom Scene in Beauty and the best works similarly, you dont need dialogue to Show they Like each other). The semantics of how fire works and so on dont really matter. It's about the Symbolic character of the Scene. I might be wrong, but it feels Like this is a movie that you shouldnt approach expecting a linear clear Storyline but more Like a fairytale. That being Said, i havent watched it so i might be completely wrong about all I Just Said and im Just projecting a bunch of stuff haha.

[@venti2210]

The "if the technology in belle is so powerful it should be used in war" bit is giving some serious mr enter vibes. That said, the last half of the portion flet weird. It seemed like you didnt know tje background or culture behind the movie and its setting. While its messy and its ending is vague, what is has to offer is much morr in its cultural aspects. The movie doesnt have to be realistic to show message. It is iffy in alot of parts but, to undermind the good parts of it and not underatand plot points of it is understandable but ignorant. The last portion of this review feels way off guy

[@middy5284]

almost watched this tonight but watched spirted away instead (first time) probably will get around to watching belle next.

[@firecrakerj3312]

Pacing seems to be a constant problem with Mamoru Hosada movies.

[@pastelricky]

Apologies in advance for typos. I am typing this on mobile. While I agree the pacing is just...weird, I feel like it fits the movie. The movie tackles heavy subjects from the grief of losing a parent, anxiety, depression, how quickly life moves online but in person life moves slower, how online criticism effects you, ect. There is a lot this movie covers that is reflected within the pacing itself, and that is something I really enjoyed. Is it messy? Yes. Could things have been made more clear? 100% life isn't clear cut and clean. Greif shows up at random times, and it send you flying back in time emotionally. You have no control over when people find and comment on your posts online. For me if this movie had a linear flow or lost its weird pacing it would lose some of it's charm. Just my two cents on the pacing issue uvu.

[@jd7693]

Giving Hosoda's visuals a middling score is wild to me.

[@TheDeadCobraTheDeadCobra]

I watched this movie and its great Did not expected this ending such a different end then i expected This is a story not about the virtual world but about dealing with loss and abuse This is how people are on the internet Thous who started insulting her when she came and started singing cause haters gonna hate She goes after him cause she looked in to his eyes and saw that he is suffering like her different reasoning's but they both carrying pain so she wants to know and help Fuck the live action beautify and the Beast this is a good Beauty and the Beast Originally i thought that The Beast was her childhood friend who they're love would revolve around but no its a back story The confession was adorable Many characters were Red herring and Bell's rival was not really a rival, i hate Justin two he was not a hero but a power hungry ass Suzu is a High Schooler so something like 16-18 years and The Kid is 14 she just related to him and wanted to help him but the romance is probably a Red herring to make it seem like her crush is the beast cause i really till the end thought her crush was the Beast They did not go with her cause it would not help the boy's cause they do not understand the tragedy that the kids feel, the Dad is not evil cause he is bad but cause he is also suffered from his wife's death U was created by 5 Voices they must be brilliant people who wanted to help without being to greedy cause 5Billion people are connected so it is cheap, stop comparing this high grade advanced technological world with your computer This is advanced Minecraft do what you want with no laws, the whale was made by Suzu's tech friend who is really smart with computers

[@adzukibean2190]

I agree. You summed it up perfectly. What this movie excels at is how every character is undeniably human. Even those with not a lot of backstory have this sense of humanity to them

[@StarlightNebulosa]

I'll add that Suzu can not take the Kei and Tomo away. She's a stranger and a highschooler, and It could be considerate kidnapping because she doesn't have the fathers concent. The best she could do was to protect them and then stay with them until they where somewhere safe (maybe with a relative who lives close or a friend of the family). And there is also the fact that Tomo seams to be autistic, which has It own set of complications when It comes to "what can Suzu do?"

[@Superlackey1]

Soooo does anyone else get a "summer wars but make it sing" kind of vibe from this? Not just the virtual reality and the cgi but the "adults just kind of being there" bit, the beast kid looking like Kazuma... The whale.. I liked it but it was definitely a wierd movie

[@sunnisideupplz3920]

I was surprised that they fumbled it up with the world building in this movie! Summer Wars also has a virtual world, but they do a great job at showing how the tech works, the rules of the world, and the relationships between characters.

[@snakycarnival9119]

the glowing rings are the user aggrement.

[@thegayghost872]

Maybe the dad didn't hit Belle because she's a girl? This movie sounds confusing

[@alecperdeau650]

Or because she wouldn't budge even after he pulled her hair and tore open her face. She stood there as a shield to the kids while still being unphased by his physical assaults. Fear was his last weapon and that did nothing. Take away an abuser's power of fear and they crumble.

[@terraventusaqua123]

7:40 A "reverse Deus ex Machina" is actually called "Diabolus ex Machina". Deus ex Machina = God from the Machine. Diabolus ex Machina = Devil from the Machine. Just food for thought.

[@villyvalley1698]

the beast is 14 years old, stated by the dad in the movie. Suzu is 17.

[@malerfique]

summer wars

[@1986Hikaru]

I kinda wanted to the Beast be a straight up Digimon without a human ID. Just because.

[@Melodyofthesea78]

I thought the beast was some kind of virus or glitch that has gained Sentience kind of like what happened in Summer Wars which by the way was made by the same guy who made this movie. Summer Wars is so much better then this film....this could've been Summer Wars 2 if done right. The whale is probably the Guardian of that world kind of like the two whales in Summer Wars was. Basically the whale gave her back her persona. The female character gained a special costume in Summer Wars near the end of the movie. My problem was that she ran off alone to help the kids realistically she could've been badly hurt or worse. I still enjoyed and actually like this movie.

[@e-pointer2262]

I feel like this movie is okay at best. The loose and almost disjointed narrative and plot holes are very off-putting, and it's annoying because the trailer really got me anticipating this movie!

[@kamenrider18]

My thoughts on Kei's Father: Well, yes, he should go to jail for physical, psychological and verbal abuse and assault. As I first watched the film, I witnessed Kei's father abuses Kei and Tomo, assaulted Suzu and do you know, what's even worse? He lied about him being super happy with his sons, despite the death of his wife to the public while on the news.

[@kamenrider18]

Again, I proclaimed Kei's Father is Justin.

[@josevarela8463]

22:28 So there are 5 billion ppl playing the game, but only a few are in African and latin American countries? Do they know internet exist in those places?

[@bethanysingsmrs849]

theres so much i dont understand about belle like how did suzus friends know she was belle (before the reveal happened), and also the kids that were being abused were shown to a live audience so how come instead of singing and revealing her true self instead belle just told everyone that the beast was actually an abused kid. and how does the u universe even worse, the whole time there were people trying to kill the beast and ruin his castle but since everything is a virtual world then why does that matter cant they just remake it? does it follow the rules of if you die here then you die in real life? like its all so confusing I dont get that oh and not to mention at the end when she stared at the abusive dad why did that make him cry and freak out? and the ending makes no sense, all suzu did was stare at the abusive dad? thats it??? why did he get scared over a 17 yo staring at him, and if it was supposed to be 'oh she reminded the abusive dad of his wife' or whatever then they could of conveyed that a little better

[@DontzGamezOnline3749]

Hezu! You speak truth! i've seen the movie myself and only find the music amazing, the story however, Oh boy! I'm glad you reviewed it because was kinda a mess. So great job on the review! Also i love the little ending there with pita pocket. 😊😂

[@brianbommarito3376]

16:02 I think it’s a mix of three and four, but maybe the tiniest bit of five. I doubt it, personally, because a person who does that to their own kids is probably not capable of such self-reflection. I think he’s scared more for himself and he realizes that the little girl is not afraid of him. He’s a coward like all bullies are.

[@いいえいいえ-o3n]

Ik in some parts of japan looking someone in the eyes is seen as a challenge basically threatening the other person

[@SacrificAbominat]

Oof this movie is probably my least favorite Hosoda movie so far. I really love the music, in isolation from the movie, and the art at times is really good, but God the plot is so dumb and nonsensical. They should have gone with either the Beauty and the Beast plot or the singer who's lost her voice plot instead of combining the two. I honestly would have preferred the latter since it would have played more to the slice of life aspects of Hosoda's previous works. Anyway I think what bothered me the most is that like Mirai before this the movie makes little to no sense. I can let Mirai pass a bit since it was from the perspective of a toddler and how he saw the world around him. This movie literally rehashes the Summer Wars virtual world gimmick again, and does little to nothing with it and makes it completely uninteresting. Oz was at least somewhat interesting and played a very pivotal role in Summer Wars plot. Also wow were the characters really shallow for a Hosoda movie as well. Like I've never seen so many one dimensional characters in one movie. What are their personalities beyond oh I've got a troubled past or I was your mom's friend. Again bringing up Summer Wars which had a huge ensemble cast, but the majority of the family in that movie had more than one trait to go off of. Heck I'd say some of the minor characters in Summer Wars had more depth than Suzu had in this movie, and she's the most developed character in this movie. Ugh it's just frustrating because I was really looking forward to this and while I was a bit miffed at Mirai's weirdness I thought this was really going to be a return to form for Hosoda going off it's first few trailers. Honestly I want Him and Chizu to do something like the first half of Boy and the Beast again. They are really good at making family focused plots and I really liked the very odd family of the Boy and the Beast. I don't think they could pull off another Wolf Children though as I think I've heard Hosoda was at a very special point in his life where he had his first child and that was the inspiration for that movie. But I am hopeful that their next movie is way better thought out and actually gives me a bunch of characters/family I care about and not a bunch cardboard cutouts like this movie had. All in all though the music does kick ass.