Kanako Nishi's Gyokō no Nikuko-chan
Studio: Studio 4C
Director: Ayumu Watanabe
Original author: Kanako Nishi
Film won the Korean Society of Cartoon and Animation Studies (KOSCAS) President's Prize in the Special Awards category
The "human drama" novel centers on a mother named Nikuko and her daughter, Kikuko, who live on a boat. The novel follows their paths in life, and their growth. The novels have more than 350,000 copies in print.
Opened in Japan on June 11. Hopefully appears someone in the not too distant future.
Movie has a short run in Australian cinemas, went and saw it a few days ago.
Spoiler for Thoughts on the film and core events, don't read if you want to see the film fresh:
This film marches to the beat of its own drum. The cliches of anime in recent times are not to be found here. It has a very unique sense of humour between its puns and literal meat landscapes that Nikuko evokes in the opening minutes. It takes a while to fit into her way of thinking, but when you do, it is one to appreciate. Her body may be a hindrance in some ways, but it does feed into her personality and outlook on life. Along with her biggest flaw - falling for bad men. 'Casino Dealer', 'Batman', 'Married Office Worker', 'Novelist' - she has fallen for scams and liars, then moves to a new city as a result. Although the last guy was more lazy than a scammer or bad. When the novelist dies young and returns to his seaside home, Nikuko goes with her daughter, Kikurin (although they are both named Kikuko officially.) They don't find him but Nikuko decides she wants to stay here, gets a boat for them to live on and thus a very different life begins.
If Nikuko is simple, cheery and heart, Kikurin - pulling double duty as narrator - is complex, sullen and mellow. Kikurin is very disillusioned by the way her classmates treat each other and the way men have treated her mother, although the bond between the staff at the restaurant her mother works at gives some daily highlights for both along with the always colourful waits for the bus home at the 'Sexy Shrine' entrance or the stealthy face-pulls that the otherwise placid Ninomiya pulls when only Kikurin can see them. But ultimately Kikurin is at a crossroads. She feels that Nikuko is about due to make a mistake that will force them to move again and that her classmates will always feud. But ultimately, what irks Kikurin the most is that she can't understand why Nikuko is able to stay positive no matter what. Kikurin is also feeling a lot of pressure to conform, to be normal - whereas Nikuko clear feels no need.
Despite the obvious conflict, the two get along and have good chemistry. Food gets very good detail and really lifts scenes. French toast breakfasts and how Nikuko rolls it up and crams it like a crepe while Nikuko halves it and gradually breaks it down shows their very different approaches but both appreciating it. Both have an affinity for oyster blade meat (the literal translation of their surname) and it is a special meal gathering once in a while amongst the staff and family. The greenery around the Sexy Shrine is very attractive, the boat the two live in is very homely, ground and rain get a lot of love, the glass bottom of the boat scene was stunning. There's a clarinet/oboe/bass piece that hits the spot during outdoor and a great accordion piece that plays while Kikurin cooks when Nikuko fell asleep during cleaning scenes. The vibe of getting the most out of the everyday things shines through. Along with a pink lizard that throws voices during shrine scenes, seagulls chanting motivation, a penguin cursing everyone with death yet being playful. Again, this film does things its way and gives no damns.
However, there are some awkward aspects that hinder the movie somewhat. Aside from Ninomiya, the other school kids feel rushed. The male kids are stupid beyond belief and the females all feel very petty - the one tone nature of them all is meant to justify Kikurin but it doesn't help to make them anything more as mere triggers to a single emotion or moment. The adults are easily the better part of this movie in terms of side characters - while they all have their problems/weaknesses, they find ways to cope/stay upbeat, even if not always the best choice. They're not obsessed with trying to please everyone and they have learned over time to accept each other - a stark contrast to the eternal power struggles within Kikurin's classmates.
While most of the younger characters are very forgettable, Ninomiya isn't. It is clear despite his quiet nature amongst everyone, he is a thinker and does things his way when away from his peers. He acts as a foil to Kikurin to make her realise she is gradually being obsessed with the pressure to conform and that it is affecting the way she regards people. It helps her re-engage with her one female friend at school and to be more understanding of Nikuko's ways. That the two have a proper friendship rather than some weird/sudden romance happening was refreshing. Ninomiya is an essential start to Kikurin realising the pressure to conform isn't worth caving in to, but he isn't the one that can resolve it for her.
Things begin to ramp up for Kikurin when she sees Nikuko taking late night calls every Tuesday, thinking it's a sign she's fallen for another guy and that their life here will be ending soon. At the school's sports day, there is a mystery person taking photos during certain moments that make her sure someone is watching her, coupled with Nikuko suddenly pinching a couple of onigiri that were for Kikurin and racing off to give them to someone else. The packed lunch during this scene is epic - it would put almost any other to shame. Also, I can't shake the feeling there was alcohol being consumed during this scene, which seems weird given it's a school event. There is an epic moment where Nikuko goes full Nikuko mode during a scavenger hunt event and becomes a bit of a celebrity in the town for amusing reasons, which irks Kikurin.
Then comes the climax of the film. Kikurin is feeling ill but Nikuko doesn't realise it before she heads out. When Kikurin passes out, perhaps the most potent and telling sequence of events occur. A flashback occurs to when Nikuko was younger at working at...a strip club. Yeah, that definitely wasn't expected with how this film was going - or the 15 second sequence where the silhouette of a stripper performing against neon lights. Nikuko befriends another person working there, Miu, who is gradually won over by Nikuko's approach and feels compelled to gradually get out of her own problems herself. They live together and things go well, Miu gets pregnant. Nikuko helps with Miu raising it but soon after Kikurin is born (Miu is her birth mother, not Nikuko), Miu flees. Nikuko takes it upon herself to raise Kikurin as her own.
Kikurin wakes up in hospital in the aftermath of appendicitis surgery. There is a scene that follows between her and Nikuko's boss where she escalates into self-loathing, her fears for the future and her inability to conform. He refutes with her good aspects, that conforming isn't everything people make it out to be and that Nikuko, for all her flaws, is one heck of a person. It is essentially the moment Kikurin lets her obsession with conformity and being relatively flawless go, rolling into Nikuko showing up and preparing to admit the fact she isn't Kikurin's birth mother, but Kikurin had known for years. Nikuko admits the calls were to Miu who wanted to know Kikurin was well and an offer of joining her new family if she wanted. Kikurin restrains her resentment of Miu and reflects on the mistakes people can make in the moment when she thinks of her own. Kikurin assures Nikuko she is the only person she'd ever want to be mother in the true sense. The scene really worked and ties in the main themes of the film.
Things end with Ninomiya revealing his model project was of the town, one that would always continue. Kikurin has her first period, another sign of her growing up and being at peace with the world.
And thus this weird yet hearty film that did things its way was a good watch. 8.5/10. Very refreshing to see how it did things - nothing like Miyazaki, Hosoda or even Shinkai. This film does not try to be clean & proper or meme-laden or to be popular or to conform to the notion of what an animated film should be about. It is an overdue display of honesty and feels real. The bond between its main duo is very heartwarming. If you can handle something not being a family movie, not shounen or not isekai, it may well be worth your time. Something I'd definitely watch again and add to my collection.
2021-10-26, 20:52
