Gyokou no Nikuko-chan

This was a very beautiful movie. The art was beautiful, the story was beautiful, and even the theme was beautiful. The art was almost comparable to that of ghibli, except more expressive. It wasn't just a plus, it actually helped to set the entire tone of the movie and even just scenes on their own. The laughing and the crying of the mother made it clear that this was going to be a heartwarming movie, but the nearly continuous expression of the daughter (or others around her) gave the tone more nuanced. The story was one where I feel many people could find a part they relateto. There are many characters all with different experiences which allow you to attach yourself to any of them, while still feeling like you can at least understand the main character. The lesson is unsurprisingly about love and acceptance not just towards family, but also towards yourself. This tends to be a repetitive narrative throughout the industry, however, this was such a personal take that it almost felt new. I want to make it clear that this was my personal opinion on what the theme was. This movie felt like an art piece hanging on a gallery where you could almost interpret any theme you needed from it. It was very moving, as by the end I felt as though I had been there experiencing the story alongside the characters. In fact, I found myself wishing there was more. This isn't because it didn't end well, or because it didn't feel correct. It was just such a journey that I wish it went on forever.

*Fortune Favours Lady Nikuko* is hyper-focused on 12-year-old Kikuko and how she views the world. When alone, Kikuko imagines external things making brief remarks. A lizard would say in a devious man's voice her darker thoughts. A shrine Torii gate would speak to her like a passer-by salesman, and a cicada would lament that he lived underground for 7 years only to die above within days. My favourite is a penguin that cries, "Death to all!" In portraying her experience of the world and how it changes over time, the film doesn't tell one continuous plot, opting to tell several that kickstart her coming-of-age. A smallcrush on a boy whose eccentricity she feels an affinity to. A brief drama with her friends that only a child her age would find so devastating. A tween-like fear of being embarrassed over her mother in front of her peers. These low-stakes, lifelike events don't exist to tell a definite moral conclusion, but to transform her slowly as she develops deeper, more meaningful relationships with others. The relation between Kikuko and the Other is of both stylistic and thematic import in the film. In many shots the camera will linger on the thing she's looking at, from her POV or over her shoulder, and then switch to a close-up of her face, centering on the light in her eyes. Her gaze and the subject she's beholding make a powerful dyad that many of the film's intimate scenes revolve around. This phenomenological presentation of Kikuko's world extends to other aspects of the movie. The background art is grounded in reality, but everything is a little more colourful than it would be in real life: the restaurant tables are more vividly red, the trees more verdant. Her daydreams are intruded by bizarre imagery of foods in the shape of her mom. Indeed, she speaks many words and spends many ruminations about her mom. Kikuko’s mother is the real star of the film. Miss Nikuko is a woman who lives life in fullness, both in her stomach and in joy. She'll bring giant rice balls to lunch and down a whole toast in one gulp. She's overjoyed by aquariums like a child. In a yakiniku she'll always have the loudest laugh and tell the worst puns. In sleep she'll snore like the roof will fall in. She's had her heart broken by a dozen men, but that'll not stop her going at it a 13th time. Kikuko, meanwhile, is far more reserved, more concerned with not standing out and hoping her friends wouldn’t see her mom’s boisterous, strange, and unashamed disposition. The movie spends loving moments animating her large gestures, her body bouncing around and unafraid to stretch and contract out-of-model to express her emotions as fully as she experiences them. These close moments between Kikuko and Nikuko are depicted in their tiny seaside town between all the minutiae of rural life, or in their warm cosy boat home, with worn-out appliances and checker-patterned blinders and all the kinds of little decorations and clutter one would pick up over decades. Yet as much as Kikuko loves her mom, she also disapproves of her, not only being embarrassed at her peers seeing Nikuko’s antics but also being bitterly cynical about her taste in men. It takes Kikuko a while to see how wrong she is. The reason that Nikuko constantly gets her heart broken, and isn’t ashamed of telling bad jokes nor of being so gleeful, is not that she is unaware or naïve. The true reason is the stuff that comprises the fabric of the film, what all her boundless laughter and life-to-the-hilt point to: that all the hardship and heartbreak of the myriad adventures in life will never stop her from going at it again. So Nikuko is, and so Kikuko comes to appreciate, to be boisterous and strange and unashamed in all your enterprise, and leave the rest to fortune.

I might be biased here with my review, but I absolutely loved it. I resonated a lot with the character and her upbringing so a lot of the times I was just agreeing, or saying thigs like "been there" "Yeah I know how it feels". Especially the aspect of being raised by a single mom getting scammed by those she chose to love and struggling all her life under low income, and even then loving unconditionally her child. It brought back memories that are fonder to me than people think. The animation is absolutely stunning and the characters are funny, compelling, and relatable. I do recommend thisfor those who enjoy slice of life and drama anime.

MMM SO GOOD! Is what I thought when looking at the trailer for this movie. Not only did the food entice me, but I also found the visuals and vagueness of the plot quite engrossing. For my first time watching an anime film in a local theater, I must say, I was thoroughly delighted with my experience. If you have family members that you feel make it their mission to embarrass you and are looking for a film that empathizes with you, look no further than Fortune Favors Lady Nukiko. So, is this film all that I’m talking it up to be, or were myopinions swayed due to the unique circumstances surrounding my viewing experience? This film follows the everyday life and tribulations of a girl named Kikuko and her mom Nukiko. Who is larger than life in more ways than one and is the antithesis to her daughter, excluding their kind natured personalities. Throughout her life, Nukiko has been taken advantage of and bullied for her silly, kind-hearted, and often dumb-founded nature by many men. Often extorting money from her, before getting out of dodge. Throughout her many expeditions, Nukiko and her daughter finally settle down in a small fishing town/district where Nukiko runs a restaurant. Standing out more than ever before. As mentioned earlier, upon seeing the trailer for this film, the vagueness of the story was piquing my interest. So coming into it I figured the central plot/conflict would be revealed. I mean, the run time was two-hours so there had to be something in terms of a plot right? I was wrong, but was pleasantly surprised by that as well. After the film finished, I came to my senses and realized that I had just watched an Iyashikei-sol film in theaters. Now I’ve seen my fair share of Iyashikei shows and films up to this point, Natsume and NNB reign as some of my favorites in the genre, but I went into those knowing full well what to expect. But when I discovered the film is composed of several small stories, shown with beautiful and calming scenery and visuals with no real central conflict other than Yukiko’s mom being a goofball, I was surprised but delighted. And in case you didn’t know, an Iyashikei is a genre of anime/film that evokes a sense of healing in the viewer. The anime is calming, has a relaxed atmosphere most of the time, and usually has little to no score aside from flowing river banks, smooth ghasts of wind, and summer time cicadas humming along to a sun addled field of green grass. They are also usually episodic with conflicts that vary from episode to episode in terms of severity. Or in a film’s case, chapter by chapter. This is the case with this film, where even the more intense scenes or moments still take a more liberal approach to how they’re displayed. For example, there’s a scene where we see a woman working the streets before working at a strip/dance club. We’re shown this through a heavy blurred filter where the casino-strip’s street light’s luminescence is exacerbated so much that the scene feels dream-like and not as intimidating as it must’ve felt for Yukiko’s mom. This scene is followed by a strip/pole dance montage where we see neon silhouettes of two women, one of which we’re familiar with doing their moves. Something about the imagery of this flashback sequence stuck with me. Maybe it was the fact that it put their line of work through a different lens than what I’m used to. In various media, I’m used to seeing dance/strip clubs in a somewhat vilified manner, or at the very least, portrayed in a less than stellar light. The way this scene portrayed that environment and form of expression was done very tastefully, with beaming colorful visuals to boot. Another example of an intense scenario presented in a calm, tasteful, and respectful manner is when Nikuko is describing the circumstances surrounding the events of one of her late husbands. Nikuko and co. are presented as shadows traversing a canvas that visually reminiscent of hieroglyphics. In this scene, we’re shown a man on a patio smoking. His figure looking down on his luck, slouching over, chin resting on hand. Moments later Nikuko describes that the man left a letter saying he was going to go kill himself at his home town. She describes her venture to find and save the man, but to no avail. While a depressing scenario indeed, it is very brief and shown through a lens that shows that though Nikuko loved him, and out of her partners he was the one who treated her the most respectfully, we’re not given enough information to feel a strong emotional attachment to him. I felt that was intentional and the emotions I felt watching that scene were meant to reflect that of Nikuko’s and her daughter’s towards him. I’m not going to describe the beauty of each and every scene, because at that point I’d be spoilering the entire film and I don’t want to do that. But just know that whether the scene is of a penguin at a zoo who’s filled with visceral hatred towards the human race, a young boy making silly faces, or a talking amphibian, just know that it’s done with great attention to detail and has a calming aura to it. To round out the things I love about it so much, I’ll close off my praises by giving credit to the voice acting, Nukiko’s seiyuu (Shinobu Otake) in particular. What a performance, giving Nukiko such a boisterous and voracious voice. Only adding credence to how much space her personality in a room takes up. I found her panicking in the sports day event to highlight this performance the most as she’s constantly switching from forgiving others for her clumsy nature, to panicking not knowing where to find an item, all while retaining a lovable mom-like quality that doesn’t become annoying. Speaking of actions that become annoying, was there anything in this film that I felt fit that criteria? Yes, I have two gripes with this film and they intertwine with each other. I felt that there were relationships between and plot points weren’t explored to their fullest potential. Whether that be with her friends, or (spoiler) her real mom. Because the way this movie is set up is like your average Iyashikei show. Episodic and not necessary to watch sequentially until the last few episodes. This movie is the same way, and I wish that we saw more of her interactions with her friends instead of just being one and done after their conflict is resolved. This issue only gets worse as we reach the final act which I’ll spare you the details on. But let it be known that the ending is just too abrupt. It didn’t ruin the film or lessen the impact it had on me. But it did make me audibly go,”What? That was it, are you serious?” It’s been awhile since a show or film left me so dumb-founded. The most confusing part was checking my phone and seeing that there were 15 - 20 minutes left in its runtime, and this is even proceeding the after-credits scene. It’s because there was a series of shorts called,”Deiji Meets Girl” playing right after it. I didn’t know this until the preview played right before the film, and even then I didn’t think it’d share the run time of, “Fortune Favor’s lady Nukiko”. This film caught my eye due to its unique and captivating visuals, as well as its ability to make me crave food that’s not even in my dimension. Having a family that I feel at times go out of their way to embarrass me at times made me relate to the main character, only furthering my intrigue. Did this film manage to be all that I hoped it to be? Yes and no. But that’s because it exceeded my expectations by going full Iyashikei when I wasn’t expecting it, for the better might I add. Though this hindered it at times, namely in the ending which left my mouth ajar and my head squandering to make sense of what I just witnessed. Had this been a show, I’d be eagerly waiting for a second season we’d never get. But as a movie, I eagerly await a sequel that I know we’ll never get. If the novel furthers the plot more than the film, then I’d pick that up.

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