Mi querida oni

Directed by Tomotaka Shibayama, "My Oni Girl" is a 2024 Japanese animated film that aims to merge fantasy with a coming-of-age story. However, despite its intriguing concept, the film ultimately falls short due to a story that feels underdeveloped and misses its mark.

The animation is impressive, and the Oni girl, with her distinctive features and playful charm, initially draws viewers in. Yet, as the plot progresses, it becomes clear that the storyline lacks the necessary depth and clarity. The narrative wanders aimlessly without a solid focus.

While the fantasy aspects could have enriched the characters and themes, they are introduced but not fully explored. Important plot developments seem rushed or insufficiently examined, which diminishes the emotional impact.

Although the protagonist's inner conflicts are suggested, they are not thoroughly explored, leading to a disconnect in their character growth. The dynamics between characters, especially between Hiragi and the Oni girl, lack the richness needed to make their exchanges truly impactful.

Fans of animated films might appreciate the visuals, but those looking for a strong narrative may find themselves disappointed.

Something about this movie fell short. It was so predictable, and really fell flat on what I think it was trying to do. The emotional scenes had me yawning and were not moving. The English voice acting was atrocious. The animation was lazy at times. The main girl character lacked any personality worth mentioning. Really the whole movie lacked personality. There was a super weird scene with a brother and sister that left me uncomfortable and guessing at the suggestive incest implications? I don't know.

Overall it was a very bland movie that felt like a waste of time. I think it's a good watch for kids but you will be disappointed as an older teenager or adult imo.

Although all the characters are written fine, I do have an issue with Tsumugi. She's not badly written but can act stubbornly stupid at times. She does not seem to know what she wants. Kind of person who will ask for your help one minute, but then later tell you to get away, she doesn't need your help. She is a very cliche "I need to do this myself" sort of character. At the same time, it makes absolutely no sense, as what is going on really does have an impact on others, and this is not all about her. It's a character that thinks she's being brave but is truly being selfish.

Another disappointment is the onis themselves; they did not carry anything interesting but their horns, no difference in culture or language, they even wear the same clothes as humans, yet live away from them just because. This is pretty much like a Studio Ghibli movie, kinda like Spirited Away, minus the magic. The animation does all right, but nothing visually spectacular here. And it lacks that interesting relationship between the main characters that you get in a Ghibli film. Sometimes the story feels like it doesn't make a lick of sense, and sometimes it feels like something's happening simply because. That being said, the story wasn't written in an interesting enough manner where you really cared about the stakes by the end.

It is plain. It is shallow and uninspiring. There is nothing unique in this movie, nothing that could really catch your attention and stay with you for a long while. It is almost formulaic. You won't see anything that can surprise you here, and there are maybe just a couple of shots that may potentially be exciting, but that's it.

Even one of the main cornerstones of the premise of the movie, Oni hiding for some reason, starts to fall apart quite early, falls apart even more once the "Hidden Village" is visited, and completely crumbles, with a single comment in the very end of the movie.

Yes, animation is good here, the art style is good, too, even though kind of boring, but it means nothing is story is not good. Don't get me wrong, it may be quite ok for children, but for me, who saw a lot of other movies and shows with similar idea, it's just boring. And it feels like, writers did not bother to even think through the world they are describing.

Not sure why every negative review is being down voted. I've watched thousands of hours of anime from the past 4 decades. This movie really dropped the ball.

The animation was decent, nothing spectacular, and nothing requiring a movie budget. I've seen seasonal anime with equivalent or better animation. If you need a bar to compare to; The Garden of Words is from 2013 and crushes this. That said, it's nice enough to enjoy had there been substance to the movie.

Unfortunately it's drowned in sappy unrealistic interactions that borrow from past successful anime like Spirited Away, but has none of the character building, script refinement, flow, or even plot.

Many questions simply go unanswered, leaving the viewer confused. The Oni are mythical creatures yet somehow just humans with horns with no discerning qualities. The movie attempts to go into the supernatural but hamstrings itself and it's own concepts.

You never really figure out WHY you're watching the movie and continually expecting "things to get good soon", but it never really comes.

Unfortunately good characters and world are wasted on a terrible plot.