Opowieści z Ziemiomorza

At first glance, Tales from Earthsea appears to be the weakest title from the renowned Studio Ghibli, which of course illustrates the high expectations that viewers have for pictures released with the blue Totoro logo. The directorial debut of Hayao Miyazaki’s son has some completely obvious shortcomings due to the not entirely suitable means of adaptation. The film’s plot relies primarily on the third of the four books in the Earthsea series, but whereas Studio Ghibli’s previous original films and adaptations thoughtfully combined the introduction of the narrative with the presentation of the given world and its rules, which worked thanks mainly to the linking of that world with the main character, in roughly the first half of Tales from Earthsea it is not actually clear who the main character is and the scattered fragments of the film’s world are not joined together. Another potential obstacle consists in the fact that this is the gloomiest film from Studio Ghibli. The studio’s previous productions worked with essentially positive worlds or with a clearly presented dualism. By comparison, due to the insufficient presentation of its characters and its world, Tales from Earthsea provides only absolute bleakness until the final third of the film. On the other hand, the film can be seen as a contemporary reflective work by means of which Studio Ghibli thematises a certain topical issue at the core of Japanese society, or rather Japan’s youth, as was the case with Whisper of the Heart. In Tales of Earthsea, the duality of light and shadow and the central motif of fear of death and fleetingness that consumes the characters and strips them of their souls resonates powerfully with the problematic social phenomenon of NEETs and hikikimori, i.e. the segment of the younger generation that is not involved in society and stays at home with no goals or purpose in life. (01.12.2012)

This is probably the first time I've ever found any of the voices in an anime to be intrinsically unpleasant. When Tanaka Yūko spoke in her sweetly snide voice, I thought I was going to cover my ears. As for the story, it felt like everyone was flailing from nothing to nothing and every time the characters got somewhere, the creators said: "Yeah, there could still be this theme, I like the stories about so-and-so, so let's put that in there too." As a whole, I don't find the film good, but the pieces are certainly interesting, just very clumsily glued together. The ending song is nice, but that's just Ghibli style. Just average. (23.02.2015)

Reflecting on Tales from Earthsea, I can't help but be struck by the lush scale and grandeur of the story, but also its factual emptiness. I see, feel, hear all the mosaics and pieces of inspiration. I'm conscious of the tugs on the threads of fate, the inevitability, and the envisioned mission. The resonating reflections and questions over what I want to be, what I want to achieve, pondering life, death and the universal good. But I search in vain for the connection, the harmonizing wholeness and completeness of all ideas. The lazy flow, the almost phlegmatic indecision and proactivity of most of the characters evokes a mild incomprehension, and the overall drive to the goal is coarse, even vaguely defensive. In 2 hours, we are told frighteningly little in the way of meaning and reasons; it detracts considerably from the emotional finale. Studio Ghibli's form hasn't been shaken one bit, but the debut of Gorou Miyazaki, son of the legendary Hayao Miyazaki, was very nervous and unclear at the very least internally. 3 stars (29.03.2021)

Goro Miyazaki took after his successful father in a big way, as it reminded me a lot of some of Miyazaki Sr's films. This is again a film full of fantasy, featuring quirky characters (especially Cob, who reminded me of the witch from Howl’s Moving Castle). At the centre again is a couple in love (here you could technically say two) trying to stand up to all the trappings of the magical world. In short, not as good as other films by Miyazaki Sr. but still above average. (24.09.2012)