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| Overall | Art | Animation | Character Design | Music | Series Story | Episode Story | Reviewer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rent | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 |
 Ggultra2764
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[series:4762#1552] | |
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Lonely Castle in the Mirror is another anime film focused on a troubled teen overcoming her personal issues through some extraordinary means, in this case entering a parallel world in a castle through her bedroom mirror where she encounters six other teens having their own personal troubles. There are two main elements explored throughout this film's run: exploring the personal issues of each of the characters and the mystery surrounding the alternate world that the seven are able to enter. For the first one, the seven teens share a common dilemma in that they have their personal traumas impacting their lives to varying degrees. The film addresses school bullying and parental abuse in exploring the problems faced by each of the seven teens throughout Lonely Castle's nearly two hour run. It makes a point to mention that while overcoming said traumas aren't easy, there are lifelines available to provide support for those affected. For example in the case of our main character Kokoro, there is a teacher at a special school for bullied kids who goes above and beyond to convince Kokoro that she is available to support her where needed. The other element to this is that the cohabitation that Kokoro and the teens have with one another in the castle provides an environment where they can be themselves and being around those with similar experiences allow them to be in a comfortable environment free from the personal problems impacting their lives. The support that the seven provide one another serves as a vital source of character development for each of them to overcome their personal issues throughout the film. With the focus on the alternate world, the teens are also tasked by a mysterious girl in a wolf mask called the Wolf Queen to find a hidden room that can grant their wish within a year. While exploring the personal problems of each of the characters, Lonely Castle also drops hints of the true nature of the mysterious castle and different elements of it as the seven are also trying to find clues regarding how they are able to come together, the location of a key needed for the hidden room, the identity of the Wolf Queen, and the location of the hidden room they are trying to seek out. The fact that the teens have a year to solve this mystery also provides this angle of the story a sense of urgency as they have that limited time to both solve the mystery and overcome their personal traumas. These layers of mystery help add more depth to the film's storytelling which, combined with the developments of its seven main characters, gives Lonely Castle tight enough pacing with its storytelling where I didn't feel as if it was padding things out or dabbling into too much for its two hour run. If there is a weakness to Lonely Castle for me, it would have to be its predictability. There have been enough coming-of-age drama anime films in recent years that have come out with a similar focus on troubled teens overcoming their issues with some sort of extraordinary means and the storytelling beats for this focus are rather easy to pick up on. This also carries over into the mystery surrounding the castle as the plot twists it offers up are quite easy to sort out when you dabble into the bits of foreshadowing offered up throughout the film's run. Still in spite of said predictability, Lonely Castle in the Mirror offers up a tight narrative in its main focuses on the personal issues affecting its characters and the mystery surrounding the castle that serves as their escape from the troubles they each face. Its exploration of how issues like bullying and parental abuse impact a teen's psyche is relatable and the film makes a point to show that there are adults who care about helping them instead of trying to "fix" them. It doesn't break any new ground as far as its storytelling goes, but I wouldn't say I regret the time I spent seeing this film. Last updated Sunday, December 17 2023. Created Sunday, December 17 2023. | ||||||||
