by Henry Pham
Inspired by Hamlet written by William Shakespeare, Scarlet takes place in a medieval-era and focuses on a sword-wielding, titular princess from a war-torn medieval kingdom, who sets out to avenge her father’s death. However, after failing in her mission, she finds herself fatally injured in a surreal world. There, she meets an idealistic young man, Hijiri, from the present day whose compassion challenges her thirst for vengeance. When Scarlet is confronted once more by her father’s killer, she must decide: cling to hatred, or discover a life beyond revenge.
Japanese actress Mana Ashida voices Scarlet (the titular princess) alongside Masaki Okada (Drive My Car), who voices Hijiri in the film. In the film, Scarlet is a vengeful, rebellious princess who wants to use violence towards his evil uncle Claudius (voiced by Perfect Days star Koji Yakusho), while Hijiri is kind, helpful, and full of heart who wants to teach her the aspects of positivity and learning about what she can do to set things right, while also understanding the hardships of losing a loved one. The performances from Ashida and Okada enhance the richness and emotion of the story, while their adorable chemistry stands out as the major highlight. The two actors are meant for each other, and they’re fun to watch. To avoid spoiling the movie, there is a humorous dream sequence with Scarlet and Hijiri dancing in the city, in the modern, present-day world.
Oscar nominee Mamoru Hosoda (Mirai) handles his duties as writer and director of this film. This anime-fantasy tale offers a fascinating perspective on revenge, kingdom, faith, death, and one’s own glory. Mixed with some gorgeous animation, production colors, structure, sound designs, camerawork, and atmosphere throughout the film, Hosada’s direction on the presentation has always been well-grounded and thought out. And the way he handles the emotional weight on each character (mostly Scarlett and Hijiri) truly defines each of the characters’ ambitions within this movie. You will feel the tension, energy, and emotions that are brought out within the characters. The background in some scenes (including the skies and locations) is realistic, making it seem like you’re watching a live-action/animated movie. However, the CGI scenes are crooked, distracting, and messy in some parts. The writing also offers some different takes on the themes and concepts, but they felt a bit unbalanced. Though the ending between Scarlet and Hijiri has left me in tears.
Overall, the Hamlet-inspired story of Scarlet is ambiguous despite some messy CGI work and unbalanced writing. I believe the downfall in this film is not just the CGI and writing, but the characters. They didn’t feel memorable or as engaging, making the characters a little difficult to fully understand or connect with. Still, it had some colorful, ambitious moments, including some good voice performances from the Japanese voice acting team. On the other hand, the musical score is good, and the pacing is pretty good without rushing. I still think it is an interesting 112-minute Anime movie, and could be a must-watch for Anime fans, but for many animation fans, it’s a maybe, possibly a one-time viewing. I don’t think it’s bad, but it’s not perfect.
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