Lonely Castle in the Mirror is a well-meaning anime film. The latest film to come to North America courtesy of GKIDS tackles teenage issues that have haunted generations with a deft hand, infusing its central character with a resonant and impactful arc that largely works in an understated way. It's occasionally gorgeous, and it knows when to pull back and let the characters do the heavy lifting. It has the makings of something great -- just not necessarily a movie. The problem is that the anime quickly overloads itself with too large of a cast and too deliberate of a pace. The central arc gets muddied and even dull when it tries to expand to the rest of the story. While Lonely Castle in the Mirror is an occasionally effective tearjerker, adapting the story to a longer-form medium like television might have better served its central ideas and characters.
Lonely Castle in the Mirror focuses on Kokoro, a soft-spoken but sweet teenager who has been avoiding school after a traumatic bullying incident. While home alone one day, she notices that her mirror has started to glow -- bringing her to a mysterious and fantastical castle controlled by the enigmatic Wolf Queen. There, she is introduced to six other teenagers, who each have their own reasons for avoiding their schools and peers. Given a year to locate a hidden key in the castle that will grant one of them any wish, the seven teenagers spend most of the time getting to know one another and coming out of their shells.
Based on the novel of the same name by author Mizuki Tsujimura, Lonely Castle in the Mirror is primarily rooted in the character drama, with the Wolf Queen even commenting at various points about how the main cast seem unconcerned with the supernatural implications of their newfound home away from home. This allows the more mysterious elements to charm and frighten the audience without being explained to the point of exhaustion. This is especially prevalent in the film's third act, when a dangerous and beautifully animated threat rears its head in the castle and is visually interesting enough to distract from the sudden nature of the twist and everything it entails. This tendency to focus on the character and let the visuals surprise the audience benefits the film's approach to such moments, allowing them to land with more impact.
Lonely Castle in the Mirror focuses on Kokoro's attempts to overcome the lingering trauma and anxiety she suffers from at home while learning more about her new friends and their universal teen problems. The drama is a bit of a mixed bag. Kokoro's battle with overwhelming anxiety serves as the film's primary emotional arc, and proves to be well-constructed and effective. But the film's run-time, coming in at just under two hours, leaves some of the other characters extremely short-changed. While the characters are all interesting, the lack of focus leaves most of the other six underutilized. The plot and character development is well-intentioned, with the film's clear themes about bullying, family problems, and mental anguish all being worthwhile themes. But the actual execution leaves much to be desired.
The deliberate pace and character-driven moments can be impactful, and a more focused story on Kokoro might have resulted in a more effective film. Instead, the divided attention ends up hurting the final product, as the characters Kokoro comes to see as her only friends don't get enough depth to warrant the audience's sympathies. Director Keiichi Hara, writer Miho Maruo, and the rest of the filmmakers clearly have something they want to say with the story, but the disjointed perspective hinders the story -- making late-film revelations feel too blunt and sudden to reach their full effectiveness.
Lonely Castle in the Mirror is a decent film with the DNA of a great TV series.. Luckily, the movie's strenghts make it a worthwhile watch for fans of the teen drama genre. While Lonely Castle in the Mirror is well-animated and features a strong story-arc, the weight of it all and the blunt (bordering on dull) edge that it's delivered with weigh down what should be a stronger movie.
Lonely Castle in the Mirror is now playing in theaters.