We discovered a preview of Bubble, a Japanese animation event film expected at the end of April 2022 on Netflix. Here is our review of a feature film that is likely to be talked about.
Founded 10 years ago, Wit Studio has quickly become one of the most prominent structures in Japanese animation. Of course, largely thanks to the adaptation of The attack of the Titans which was, in 2013, the very first production of the young studio. The saga initiated by the mangaka Hajime Isayama took such an international dimension that during the third season in 2019, the producers decided against all odds to entrust the “final season” to another studio, MAPPA, more inclined to support the planning and the associated economic issues.
Freed from this immense burden, Wit and his favorite director Tetsurô Araki (Death Note) were then able to focus on other projects and look to the future more calmly. Thus, the studio has chained successes between manga adaptations (Vinland Saga, Ranking of Kings) and original productions (Great Pretender, Vivy -Fluorite Eye’s Song-). This year, the studio will offer two titles for Netflix: the series vampire in the gardenscheduled for the month of May, and the feature film bubble by Tetsurô Araki, which will be online on the platform from April 28, 2022.
A 5 star staff
Five years ago, a rain of bubbles began to fall on the world. This extraordinary phenomenon caused an explosion in the heart of Tokyo which claimed many victims. Surrounded by a huge bubble, the city found itself under water and gravitational anomalies appeared. Today, Tokyo is the playground for fans of parkour, a sport that consists of overcoming obstacles with agile movements and without the aid of equipment. Hibiki, a solitary teenager, is a prodigy of this acrobatic and dangerous sport. But one day, he misses a jump and falls into the ocean. Close to drowning, he is saved by Uta, a mysterious girl…
Announced in December 2021, bubble burst like a bomb on the internet bubble thanks to its impressive teaser and especially by the announcement of its 5-star staff. Rather judge for yourself: we find Gen Urobuchi, the author of Fate/Zero and creator of Psycho Pass to the screenplay, the mangaka Takeshi Obata (Death Note) to character design and the indispensable Hiroyuki Sawano (The attack of the Titans) to the music. All supervised by Tetsurô Araki, and you certainly get the animation film event of the year. Yes, just as much as the next Makoto Shinkai which will be released at the end of the year. A director who owes a lot to this bubble Besides.
Makoto Shinkai Cinematic Universe
The extraordinary global success of Your Name in 2016 had a huge impact on Japanese animation. Netflix, which has exclusive streaming rights to said film, has understood this and does not hesitate to regularly communicate on it. Since then, many clones have emerged, using the same recipe based on romance tinged with fantasy. A mixture that allowed Makoto Shinkai’s film to reach heights in terms of popularity, but also and above all financially. It therefore seems consistent that the specifications received by Wit Studio for bubble comes down to making Makoto Shinkai, with action scenes worthy of The attack of the Titans.
It is difficult for Tetsurô Araki’s film to detach itself from its first influence, as the latter takes up some of the themes dear to the director of The Tower Beyond the Clouds : loneliness, fear of losing the other, impossible love… All against a backdrop of disaster and meteorological phenomena. We will also note obvious similarities, such as the importance given to music, the overall visual and a very similar graphic palette. The colors blue (the sky, the water, Uta’s hair) and green (nature reclaiming its rights) are omnipresent. Thus, Makoto Shinkai’s cinema sweats through every pore. Proof that the filmmaker marked a generation. But bubble is he, however, a Canada Dry version of his work? Clearly not. It is even one of its best incarnations.
Modern re-reading of The little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen bubble is also an ode to freedom. These orphans, all traumatized by the disaster, compete in parkour to support themselves, but it is also a way to express their emotions. Abandoned by society, they live on the margins according to their own rules. Hibiki, a withdrawn teenager, suffers from auditory hypersensitivity. Therefore, the world is for him a permanent aggression. His refuge is the silence of this deserted city and parkour is his only means of communication. His meeting with Uta (literally “singing”) will change his perception of things. As in The little Mermaid, their love will certainly be chimerical, but Hibiki will open up to others and give free rein to his emotions. Finally, he will agree to “listen to the world”.
The film is technically flawless, but that’s no surprise coming from the animators at Wit Studio. The twirling sequences of parkour evoke visual sensations experienced during The attack of the Titans. For the calmer scenes, we find these very worked and aesthetic close-ups on the faces that we have already seen in Vivy. Even though bubble does not hide its inspirations from Makoto Shinkai, the film never presents itself as a vulgar copy, but rather as an extension of his cinema. With a perhaps darker writing, Gen Urobuchi obliges, and action sequences that amaze.
The verdict
We liked
Animation at the top
The Sawano Soundtrack
Impossible not to fall in love with Uta
We liked less
Too influenced by Makoto Shinkai movies
With a 5 star staff, bubble keeps its promises by delivering a visually impressive show (especially the parkour sequences) and a convincing romance, tinged with fantasy. The shadow of Makoto Shinkai’s cinema hovers all around, but the film finally manages to break away from it to find its own personality. Netflix has therefore won its bet by trusting Wit Studio (The attack of the Titans) and offers us here one of the best animated films on the platform, if not the best.
