My Oni Girl

 

Although all the characters are written fine, I do have an issue with Tsumugi. She's not badly written but can act stubbornly stupid at times. She does not seem to know what she wants. Kind of person who will ask for your help one minute, but then later tell you to get away, she doesn't need your help. She is a very cliche "I need to do this myself" sort of character. At the same time, it makes absolutely no sense, as what is going on really does have an impact on others, and this is not all about her. It's a character that thinks she's being brave but is truly being selfish.

Another disappointment is the oni's themselves; they did not carry anything interesting but their horns, no difference in culture or language, they even wear the same clothes as humans yet live away from them just because. This is pretty much like a Studio Ghibli movie, kind of like Spirited Away, minus the magic. The animation does all right, but nothing visually spectacular here. And it lacks that interesting relationship between the main characters that you get in a Ghibli film. Sometimes the story feels like it doesn't make a lick of sense, and sometimes it feels like something's happening simply because. That being said, the story wasn't written in an interesting enough manner where you really cared about the stakes by the end.

Staff:

Directed by: Tomotaka Shibayama

Written by: Tomotaka Shibayama and Yuko Kakihara

Produced by: Karen Imagawa

Starring: Kensho Ono, Miyu Tomita, Shintarō Asanuma, Aya Yamane, Tomoko Shiota, Shirō Saitō, Miou Tanaka, Satsuki Yukino, Shōzō Sasaki, Noriko Hidaka, Satoshi Mikami, and Hisako Kyōda

Edited by: Ryota Kinami

Music by: Mina Kubota

Production companies: Studio Colorido and Twin Engine

Distributed by: Giggly Box and Twin Engine

Release date: May 24, 2024

Running time: 112 minutes