Netflix has Anime

All the characters in the movie walk normally. That’s only some of what is great about this latest offering from Mappa Studios.

Maboroshi is a time-loop fantasy coming-of-age story. A small town suffered a massive explosion at the local steel mill. The city and its people continue to exist through some magic, even the workers who should have died in the blast. The price paid for this miracle is to be frozen in time. The seasons never change, the people never age, no one dies from old age, and even unborn babies remain unborn.

We, the viewers, are never allowed to know how long this phenomenon has existed. The characters are well aware of the situation before the start of the first act. The characters struggle, repeating the same day, knowing it’s all an act. The daily activities are just an act to appease a god and maintain the blessing of imprisonment. Having an existential crisis can lead to being removed from the world.

The story follows our protagonists to a foreseeable end. Of course, there is a person who is spirited away. There’s no mystery of how this person connected to the people in this town, specifically our protagonists. Of course, teenagers want to break free of the endless loop and mature into adulthood. Unsurprisingly, the main antagonists are middle-aged parents who don’t want to move forward. Who will win, the middle-aged parents wishing things to remain the same or the teenagers looking to live life? There’s no real suspense. It’s Hallmark Anime.

This anime is sometimes beautiful, and the voice actors stir real emotions from the viewers. It’s like the last couple of pieces of Halloween candy. It’s not your favorite, but it gets the job done—seven out of ten.