Travel through realms to save love in ‘Ni No Kuni’ | Movie Review
When I found out Ni No Kuni the animator of the Studio Ghibli films, I was elated! I love the wholesome feel of the Studio Ghibli films, so even though I am not familar with Ni No Kuno as a Bandi Namco game, I hit play with optimism.
Netflix released Ni No Kuno on January 16, 2020. It follows two childhood friends as Wayfarers jumping back and forth between two dimensions to save their friend from death.
Sound pretty straight forward.
You start the film realizing that the two main characters, Yu and Haru like the same girl, Kotona. One day after school, she was randomly targeted by a creep who stabbed her in the stomach. Haru and Yu both intend to help her, but they all technically get crushed by two buses in oncoming traffic.
Luckily, Yu and Haru jump realms because, conveniently, their Wayfarer magic kicks in. During their time in the parallel realm, they realize everyone from their world has a doppelganger in this world. They find Astrid (Kotona’s counterpart and princess of the domain) with a knife in her stomach as well.
Yu removes the knife, and as a result, he saves Astrid. Eventually, they get back to their realm and realize that Kotona is dying.
The exciting part kicks in when Yu and Haru receive misleading information regarding how the parallel worlds are connected. I became more invested because I figured the characters were misled.
Haru wasn’t so lucky. After speaking with a dark lord of the realm, he decides that Astrid needs to die for Kotona to live, and he sets out to end the princess’s life. Yu, on the other hand, believes that saving Astrid will save Kotona. The difference of opinion causes the two to feud, and during their fight, Yu starts to fall in love with Astrid.
Soon after, the real cause for the issues between the realms come to light, and everyone comes together to rectify the magical connection.
I won’t spoil the rest, but I enjoyed the film. It had a slow start; however, once the conspiracy came out, the excitement came as well. Sure there are moments in the movie that are obvious, but that’s all apart of the fun. Plus, the animation is so beautiful that you’ll stay interested even during slow moments.
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