One of the trends to expect in 2018 mentioned in last week’s post is about the rise of indie animation and the plethora of choices it will bring along with it. Shout! Factory has two new releases which offer a glimpse at both sides of the animation coin.
Napping Princess
Directed by Kenji Kamiyama, Napping Princess tells the story of Kokone Morikawa, a teenager with a habit of falling asleep in school. The sci-fi fantasy uses the interesting gimmick of switching between the real world, and Morikawa’s dreams, where she is a princess that can make robots come alive.
Napping Princess would be a typical anime adventure if it weren’t for the rather unusual storyline concerning self-driving technology and the appropriation of said technology. This adds a layer of uniqueness to the film that could so easily have been a very standard adventure.
My Entire High School Falling Into The Sea
Directed by Dash Shaw, this film is one that occupies a very particular niche. To arthouse to be mainstream, but too mainstream to be arthouse. As the title implies, it concerns the titular high school falling into the sea, and three friend’s attempts to escape.
My Entire High School Falling Into The Sea is a tough film to write about. It received generally positive reviews, and from a strictly animation perspective, the groovy, psychedelic style combined with limited movement make for a rather unforgettable experience. Whether it’s positive or negative depends entirely on you.
Two Sides of the Same Coin
These new releases represent two very different sectors of the animation industry. Not only do they originate in different countries, but they clearly cater to different audiences. Yet they are both independent films with a release in the United States that can only serve to broaden horizons for their viewers.
Both are well worth checking out and will give you two vastly different viewing experiences. That said, animation is rapidly expanding the experiences it has to offer audiences, and these two films are a good indication of that.
Napping Princess is released on January 30th.
My Entire High School Falling Into The Sea is releases on January 23rd.
Both new releases are from Shout! Factory.