<img src="http://www.animeuknews.net/img/uploaded/2015-11-03Miss Hokusai Poster.jpg">
<b>Review of Miss Hokusai by Christophe</b>
The story of <em>Miss Hokusai</em> focuses on O-Ei, the daughter of the famous woodblock painter Katsushika Hokusai. O-Ei is notable for being the subject of debate among Japanese academia, in that some credit her with being the real artist behind some of her father’s later works – this historical intrigue has been the subject of many pieces of fiction, both in Japan and elsewhere. As such, I expected <em>Miss Hokusai</em> to focus on the challenges of a woman in 1800s Japan, struggling to escape her father’s shadow as an artist, and eventually succeeding him but being forced to pretend her works are his after realising that it is not just talent which sells art, but the name attached to it. The film barely touches on any of these themes: O-Ei is strong and independent, and while it is shown that she paints under the name Hokusai, she is also clearly a respected artist in her own right. What’s stranger is that the film isn’t a continuous storyline following O-Ei through her life but just a series of vignettes (similar to Isao Takahata’s <em>My Neighbours the Yamadas</em>), giving the impression that the film would have been better suited to a TV series format. It was somewhat surprising to me, therefore, that <em>Miss Hokusai</em> turned out to be my favourite of the day’s screenings.<br>
The film’s stories vary between the funny, the poignant, and the thought-provoking. It also on occasion steps into the fantastical realm, including one disturbing sequence where O-Ei and her father encounter what seems to be a Rokuro Kubi (I’ll admit, I had to whack out my Yokai guide for that one). CG is well-utilised in these more illusory scenes to create a very different art and animation style, which juxtapose nicely with the conventional artistry employed in the film’s depictions of everyday life. This combination of the mundane and the fantastical combine to ensure that the film always maintains the interest of the audience, and demonstrates the wide range of sources which Hokusai (and his daughter) might have received inspiration from. In terms of the comedy, <em>Miss Hokusai</em> is able to utilise both understated humour and the more over-the-top. A prime example of the former is when Hokusai is invited by a young artist to go and see a woman who will only show her ornate back tattoo to a man who is able to outdrink her; “What foolishness,” Hokusai scornfully says, before immediately grabbing his coat and heading for the door.<br>
The film effectively recreates the sights and sounds of 1800s Edo, and manages to achieve the impressive feat of presenting a historical city that not only looks the part, but that actually feels busy and lived in. Something worth looking out for is the strange use of modern rock music in a couple of the film’s sequences, once at the very beginning and again towards the end. The rest of the film’s soundtrack is period-appropriate, traditional Japanese fare, which makes the use of rock initially jarring. For some reason, however, I found it to work very well in the scenes it was used in, and it highlights <em>Miss Hokusai</em>’s ambition to be more than just a film that gets by with saying, “Look at this old historical stuff, isn’t it quaint?”.<br>
The extended cast really add to the film’s personal feel, and every one of them is lovingly animated and brought to life by their voice actors. A fan favourite was Zenjiro, the freeloading wannabe artist living in the Hokusai household, ostensibly to study under the master, but really just to have a place to crash after blowing his money drinking and visiting the red light district. Zenjiro provides a lot of the film’s comic relief, with the perfect balance of being annoying, and yet still amusing and endearing. Effective in an entirely different way was O-Ei’s blind little sister, O-Nao. O-Nao’s segments provide the bulk of the film’s dramatic moments, as O-Ei helps her to appreciate the beauty in life without the use of her sight, and Hokusai attempts to come to terms with having a disabled daughter. It helps too that she’s absolutely adorable, voiced by 12-year-old Shion Shimizu, so it’s not all tears when she’s on-screen.<br>
The ending, or rather, the lack of one, is likely where <em>Miss Hokusai</em> will turn off many of its viewers. There is something of an emotional climax, but after that the film ends with O-Ei standing on a bridge providing a voiceover about what happens next, purely in historical terms: “I got married and then got divorced”, “My father died when he was 90”, etc. Given that there had been something of a possible love story building up to this point (two possible suitors for O-Ei had been introduced in the course of the film), the complete lack of any resolution on this front was quite unsatisfactory. The film did end with me feeling that I would have liked a lot more, but that wasn’t just because of the non-ending – rather, the film was so beautiful, and the characters so likeable and interesting, that I simply wanted to spend more time in <em>Miss Hokusai</em>’s world.<br>
<hr />
Miss Hokusai was shown as part of Anime Limited's MCM Loves Anime event - read our full coverage of the screenings here.<br>
<b>Final score: 9 out of 10</b>
<b>Additional screencaps</b>
<img src="http://www.animeuknews.net/img/uploaded/screens/2015-11-03hokusai1.jpg">
<img src="http://www.animeuknews.net/img/uploaded/screens/2015-11-03hokusai2.jpg">
<img src="http://www.animeuknews.net/img/uploaded/screens/2015-11-03hokusai3.jpg">
<b>Review of Miss Hokusai by Christophe</b>
The story of <em>Miss Hokusai</em> focuses on O-Ei, the daughter of the famous woodblock painter Katsushika Hokusai. O-Ei is notable for being the subject of debate among Japanese academia, in that some credit her with being the real artist behind some of her father’s later works – this historical intrigue has been the subject of many pieces of fiction, both in Japan and elsewhere. As such, I expected <em>Miss Hokusai</em> to focus on the challenges of a woman in 1800s Japan, struggling to escape her father’s shadow as an artist, and eventually succeeding him but being forced to pretend her works are his after realising that it is not just talent which sells art, but the name attached to it. The film barely touches on any of these themes: O-Ei is strong and independent, and while it is shown that she paints under the name Hokusai, she is also clearly a respected artist in her own right. What’s stranger is that the film isn’t a continuous storyline following O-Ei through her life but just a series of vignettes (similar to Isao Takahata’s <em>My Neighbours the Yamadas</em>), giving the impression that the film would have been better suited to a TV series format. It was somewhat surprising to me, therefore, that <em>Miss Hokusai</em> turned out to be my favourite of the day’s screenings.<br>
The film’s stories vary between the funny, the poignant, and the thought-provoking. It also on occasion steps into the fantastical realm, including one disturbing sequence where O-Ei and her father encounter what seems to be a Rokuro Kubi (I’ll admit, I had to whack out my Yokai guide for that one). CG is well-utilised in these more illusory scenes to create a very different art and animation style, which juxtapose nicely with the conventional artistry employed in the film’s depictions of everyday life. This combination of the mundane and the fantastical combine to ensure that the film always maintains the interest of the audience, and demonstrates the wide range of sources which Hokusai (and his daughter) might have received inspiration from. In terms of the comedy, <em>Miss Hokusai</em> is able to utilise both understated humour and the more over-the-top. A prime example of the former is when Hokusai is invited by a young artist to go and see a woman who will only show her ornate back tattoo to a man who is able to outdrink her; “What foolishness,” Hokusai scornfully says, before immediately grabbing his coat and heading for the door.<br>
The film effectively recreates the sights and sounds of 1800s Edo, and manages to achieve the impressive feat of presenting a historical city that not only looks the part, but that actually feels busy and lived in. Something worth looking out for is the strange use of modern rock music in a couple of the film’s sequences, once at the very beginning and again towards the end. The rest of the film’s soundtrack is period-appropriate, traditional Japanese fare, which makes the use of rock initially jarring. For some reason, however, I found it to work very well in the scenes it was used in, and it highlights <em>Miss Hokusai</em>’s ambition to be more than just a film that gets by with saying, “Look at this old historical stuff, isn’t it quaint?”.<br>
The extended cast really add to the film’s personal feel, and every one of them is lovingly animated and brought to life by their voice actors. A fan favourite was Zenjiro, the freeloading wannabe artist living in the Hokusai household, ostensibly to study under the master, but really just to have a place to crash after blowing his money drinking and visiting the red light district. Zenjiro provides a lot of the film’s comic relief, with the perfect balance of being annoying, and yet still amusing and endearing. Effective in an entirely different way was O-Ei’s blind little sister, O-Nao. O-Nao’s segments provide the bulk of the film’s dramatic moments, as O-Ei helps her to appreciate the beauty in life without the use of her sight, and Hokusai attempts to come to terms with having a disabled daughter. It helps too that she’s absolutely adorable, voiced by 12-year-old Shion Shimizu, so it’s not all tears when she’s on-screen.<br>
The ending, or rather, the lack of one, is likely where <em>Miss Hokusai</em> will turn off many of its viewers. There is something of an emotional climax, but after that the film ends with O-Ei standing on a bridge providing a voiceover about what happens next, purely in historical terms: “I got married and then got divorced”, “My father died when he was 90”, etc. Given that there had been something of a possible love story building up to this point (two possible suitors for O-Ei had been introduced in the course of the film), the complete lack of any resolution on this front was quite unsatisfactory. The film did end with me feeling that I would have liked a lot more, but that wasn’t just because of the non-ending – rather, the film was so beautiful, and the characters so likeable and interesting, that I simply wanted to spend more time in <em>Miss Hokusai</em>’s world.<br>
<hr />
Miss Hokusai was shown as part of Anime Limited's MCM Loves Anime event - read our full coverage of the screenings here.<br>
<b>Final score: 9 out of 10</b>
<b>Additional screencaps</b>
<img src="http://www.animeuknews.net/img/uploaded/screens/2015-11-03hokusai1.jpg">
<img src="http://www.animeuknews.net/img/uploaded/screens/2015-11-03hokusai2.jpg">
<img src="http://www.animeuknews.net/img/uploaded/screens/2015-11-03hokusai3.jpg">