Considering the quality of series Wit Studio has produced during the last few years, with “Attack on Titan”, “Vinland Saga” and “Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song” being among the best we have seen lately, the new movie they produced was bound to garner attention before its release, even more so since the producers decided to premiere it in Berlin before they screen it on Netflix, ahead of its theatrical opening in Japan this May. Let us see how they fared.
Borrowing from “The Little Mermaid”, parkour, and the dystopian aspect so frequently presented in anime, the story takes place in a Tokyo that is almost completely uninhabitable, after the world was overcome by bubbles that came from the sky and eventually exploded, causing mass destruction. The only people who still live there, despite the law that forbids them, are children who were orphaned by the tragedy, who now survive by scavenging in the water that has filled up the city, and by competing as groups in parkour competitions, with the winners getting bags of rice as their reward. One of the best teams are the Blue Blazes, who manage to win repeatedly due to the extraordinary talent of Hibiki, a loner teenager who does not particularly like to hang with the rest of the group, but also harbors a trauma revolving around the presence of the Tokyo tower.
One day, Hibiki attempts to climb the tower because he hears a woman's song, and believes he sees a boy there. He almost makes it, but ends up falling into the ocean, where his final exhale combines with some of the bubbles to make a mysterious young woman. She is clearly new to being a human, but learns quickly from others. Hibiki names her “Uta” and starts training with her as she also learns how to be human, including talking. Eventually, the group faces their arch rivals, the mysterious group called Undertakers, but soon the bubbles make their appearance once more and both the tower and Uta seem to be connected with the phenomenon in some way.
Let us start with the obvious: “Bubble” is visually astonishing in terms of character creation, background drawing and animation, with the people in Wit Studio and particularly Satoshi Kadowaki's work being truly outstanding. Drawing from the whole concept of parkour in a dystopian setting, the animators have created a series of frantic paced scenes where the movement of the characters and their interactions with the setting are a true wonder to watch, with the level of detail in every aspect being truly top notch. Starting with the first scene and continuing with the plethora of battles and the rather impactful final one, the movie is a true visual extravaganza, with the particular scenes carrying the anime from beginning to end, at least in terms of impression.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about context, with another Netflix title being filled with cliches, in a rather evident effort to draw in as much audience from around the world as possible. The teenage protagonists are here once more, as much as the coming-of-age elements, as much as the dystopian environment, the sudden appearance of a girl, the lonely hero who actually yearns for some connection, the twist (which is quite obvious for anyone who has seen a dozen of anime titles) connected to a song, which also allows for music promotion, and the final self-sacrifice. Evidently, these are all elements done to death in the industry, to the point that it is annoying to watch the same type of narrative once more.
Add to that a number of plot holes, characters that are present only to interact with the protagonists, the lack of any kind of contextual depth that could appeal to mature audiences, and you have the sum of a title which is addressed exclusively to kids essentially. Considering the aforementioned titles Wit Studio has produced, the disappointment becomes even bigger, particularly since the technical prowess is definitely here.
“Bubble” definitely deserves a watch for its gorgeous visuals, but apart from that, there is very little for anyone to like here.
