Brave Story (2006)

Directed by Kôichi Chigira (Full Metal Panic!), Brave Story is an adaptation of a light novel of the same name by author Miyuki Miyabe. The story follows a young boy named Wataru (Takako Matsu) who discovers a door into another world. Though this setup echoes Alice in Wonderland, the purpose of the door is a bit different. Wataru is a 5th grader whose parents recently split up. On top of all this, he comes home one day to find his mother unconscious on the floor. Whether this is a result of some kind of illness or suicide attempt is unclear. Wataru doesn’t understand any of this and comes across the door which promises him a wish. He enters the door hoping to save his mother and restore his family. A bit before he enters the door, he meets and befriends another depressed boy named Mitsuru (Eiji Wentz) who is also somehow connected to the mysterious door.

The film really picks up once Wataru enters the world of Vision. He is first tested to determine whether or not he should be allowed in and after passing the test, he is quickly explained the premise of his role in the world and simultaneously the plot of the film. He is given a sword with five slots in it. If he fills up every slot with a magic gem, he can summoned the Goddess of Destiny and make his wish. So he begins his journey traversing the world looking for these gems with a few companions including a large lizard man named Kee-Keema (Yô Ôizumi) and a cat-girl name Meena (Chiwa Saito), who he has a half-attempted romance with. The world of vision is vast and varied, filled with all sorts of bizarre humanoid creatures as well as a few humans here and there. There are marketplaces and huge cities, deserts, dragons, and all kinds of interesting things to look at. The characters are all interesting enough, particularly Wataru and Mitsuru. Their reasons for attempting the dangerous quest may be honorable, but the way they go about it is considerably different. Of the two, Mitsuru is more complicated and even though he plays a more villainous character, his motivation and experiences in life make him not only believable, but sympathetic. These characters are not meant to be epic heroes; they are scared children attempting to alter their fate rather than face it. This presents one of the major ideas of the film, which is the lesson that the ends do not justify the means and that no matter where you go you cannot escape your problems (reminiscent of Where the Wild Things Are). There are some other themes that are also developed during the journey such as selfishness, friendship, and sacrifice. Wataru is just a child and he never turns into a swashbuckling adventurer. He is brave and innocent and at the end learns a pretty good lesson. The score to the film (by Ben Watkins) is also very good and suits the settings well.

I have only a few complaints with this film and one is the pacing. At only 108 minutes long, there could have been more to the journey. Early on there is about a two minute sequence set to a song that is basically a montage of some of Wataru’s journey with his new friends. This montage seemed incredibly unnecessary considering that this could have been an ideal time to further develop relationships between some of the characters. It is never really explained why Kee-Keema joins Wataru on his journey and Meema’s reason is never resolved. Granted the montage is only two minutes, but considering the scope of the quest, that portion of the film could also have been used to showcase more the world of vision. They travel to all kinds of strange and interesting places within that montage that are never mentioned again or explained. I guess they were a waste of time concerning the main plot, but if that’s the case why bother to show them at all? Given the plot and the scope of the world, this premise might have worked better as a series or at least more than one film. My other complaint is the ending of the film. Not the climax or the conclusion to the story, but the very last scene before the credits. I won’t spoil it, but to me it felt like a massive cop out. Brave Story, despite its minor shortcomings, is a really good fantasy film with some great animation and an interesting scenario. Overall it's worth a viewing and is a colorful and engaging film that may surprise you with its emotional depth.