Seven children, an empty building, an endless body of water and one goal: to get home. This summer’s coming-of-age tale is Drifting Home. Check out this review to see what it’s all about!
Drifting House Overview
A coming-of-age fantasy tale, Drifting Home was created by Studio Colorido and produced by Twin Engine and Netflix. Burn The Witch, Colorido’s take on Bleach’s spiritual successor, and the immensely popular A Whisker Away are part of the company’s Original Net Animations (ONA). The film is directed by Hiroyasu Ishida and is titled Ame wo Tsugeru Hyouryuu Danchi in the original Japanese. The animated films Penguin Highway and Fastening Days were directed by Ishida.
Drift home
Drifting Home Review – The Plot
Sonny Boy, who I’m amazed to bring up again, took the top spot in Leisurebyte’s selection of the best anime of 2021. The show was a surprise inclusion on many fans’ top anime lists and received accolades. nominations for Anime of the Year and Director of the Year for the Crunchyroll Awards (For what it’s worth). It’s safe to assume that the show has won over many people despite not being a popular option, including this author. It’s simply a superb animation that deserves way more praise than it gets.
Why bring up this episode now? Well, for one thing, The Drifting Classroom, a horror manga, serves as inspiration for both of them. The basic idea is the same: a group of children are stuck in an endless chasm from which they are unable to escape. Due to one of the children’s emotional outbursts and their need to overcome their mental obstacles to get out of this situation, both incidents are triggered. Essentially coming-of-age stories, these two tales show these young people how to embrace change.
So the crucial question is: Is Drifting Home a good movie? This is most certainly the case. Although it has several shortcomings which we will mention in a moment, overall it was a really satisfying experience to go through it. The film had a clear vision which it maintained throughout its duration and conveyed a very complete and satisfying narrative. The author worked hard to make his vision as coherent and linear as possible because he had a clear idea of what he wanted to see on screen from the start.
The film placed a lot of emphasis on subject matter and retained the many themes he chose for his characters. Some of the issues our main characters faced throughout the plot involved growing up and learning about change. They lose someone very important to them, which damages their relationship with each other. The way the movie showed you acting towards someone you believe has wronged but doesn’t have the will to do anything about it was incredibly accurate. While I’m thrilled with it, I didn’t expect a show with children as the main characters to go so deep into the human psyche.
Although spoken in a language other than the one most of us use, the conversation in this instance seemed to be naturally spoken by the characters. The conversation was simple, which may have contributed to the fact that they were all children, and also contributed to the film’s immersion. It also helped the kids be able to deliver poignant conversation without sounding too cheesy. Although not as much as one might expect, there was definitely some cringe present.
The other important element of Drifting Home was the loss of attachment or detachment caused by grief. Grieving is difficult for adults, but we are talking about children here. A wonderful analogy of a grieving person’s life was Natsume’s attachment to the building, the one thing that still roots her. It worked so well as an animated character who could react and respond to children’s pain with empathy that the show established a complete persona on Noppo as an embodiment of attachment and grief. For what it was, this film was quite sophisticated.
However, not everything in Drifting Home is sunshine and flowers because there were quite a few issues with that. The pacing of the film was the most obvious problem as it kept going much longer than necessary. Some scenes lasted longer than they should have, the characters didn’t have enough time to grow, and whole scenes should have been left out. This problem also affected the conclusion. While majestic, emotionally appropriate, and thematically appropriate, it lasted much longer than necessary. The experience was largely excellent, despite that.
Drifting Home Review – Animation and Music
The characters in Drifting Home are a real mixed bag. Although some of their actions are beyond insane, you have to be indulgent because they’re supposed to be young people who don’t know any better, and that’s what I tried to do. Even though most of them eventually learn to be wiser and make better decisions, this movie’s tagline should be “horrible decisions.” It’s hard to put into words how annoying it is to watch someone repeatedly make the same mistake, especially after being repeatedly warned about the repercussions of their conduct.
One character in particular, Natsume, is the main female character in Drifting Home. This may seem fussy at first. She needs to mature a lot because she likes to make mistakes. in fact, quite a few. ones that will be disastrous for everyone, including her. Luckily, she learns the lesson the movie was trying to teach her at the end, even if it required a lot of significant plot development. She wasn’t exactly a good character, but she wasn’t a complete idiot either.
Drift Home Terrified
Kosuke cannot receive much attention as his only traits were his ability to scream and his dislike of everyone. While that can be largely excused by the fact that he’s young, the outcome is nonetheless hard to see. He doesn’t have much to do in this story other than appear on screen and save Natsume from the traps she’s making for herself, but he manages to do it well and remains a likeable protagonist. He himself has lessons to learn, which he does wonderfully.
The other cast members are adequate, if somewhat underwritten. They nonetheless have important roles to play in the narrative, and their unique personalities bring a lot of life to the otherwise lifeless storyline. The main character, Reina, is a bit cliché but entertaining nonetheless. Yuzuru and Taishi, the other two boys, are also respectable. Noppo, however, is a bit disappointing. One would expect him to be a much better character given the type of role he had in the movie than he actually was. He wasn’t horrible; he was just so bland and boring. Well, not everyone can be successful.
The production quality of Drifting Home was excellent, as is the case with the majority of episodes released these days, especially on such a major platform as Netflix Anime. Very cleverly animated, the amusement parks and the houseboats, as well as the few quick scenes at the end. The film had a cold filter applied which gave it a sea air, which was appropriate for the setting, and the character designs were also modern. Is it ultimately true that every animation is so great that the only thing you can say about things like this is, “Yeah, that was up to par I guess?”
However, the music fell flat. It just lacked the seriousness one would expect from something so disturbing. There was some nice music present, not sure, but it wasn’t the kind of music that would stick in your memory after the credits ended. The vocal insert songs, especially the city pop track that played in the middle, were excellent. A very forgettable collection of music, other than that.
Verdict
One equally endearing and well-written movie you’re likely to find on Netflix is Drifting Home. The subject matter and animation elevated it above what most people would expect, even if the tempo and music weren’t particularly noteworthy.
You can watch Drifting Home on Netflix!
