A Ni no Kuni Movie Was Inevitable
Several Level 5 works have either received anime adaptations or have released as cross-media franchises in the years since the company established themselves as an independent publisher. The Professor Layton series, for instance, received an anime movie, while second series Layton Mystery Journey received an anime TV show. The cross-media franchises have been the biggest moneymakers for the company, which have included Yo-Kai Watch, The Snack World, The Little Battlers, and more. Mobile Suit Gundam Age was also their attempt to make an anime without an accompanying game, though the reception to that series shows why they didn’t pursue another series like it.
Level 5’s frequent dabbling in anime is why it wasn’t too surprising to hear that a Ni no Kuni anime film is on the way. It will be produced by OLM, Inc, and distributed by Warner Bros. Japan. While original DS game Dominion of the Dark Djinn sold well in Japan (especially after several retailers discounted it), PlayStation 3 title Wrath of the White Witch put up underwhelming sales. Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom didn’t perform too well there either. In a way, this could be considered another chance for the series to achieve mainstream popularity in Japan.
The real surprise here is how the movie will have an original story with new characters, though will involve themes and locations at least similar to those from the games. The announcement happening in Japan made it clear that Level 5’s home territory is the priority here, and it’s clear they’re working to make the movie approachable for the many who haven’t played the two console games. This aspect will actually make it unique compared to other Level 5 anime adaptations.
For this movie, the world of Ni no Kuni will be a parallel one to the real world, something touched upon with some main characters in the games. Instead of this only being applied to a character like, say, Roland from NnKII, all the main characters known thus far will be from the real world. If you’re reading this and are thinking this sounds like Ni no Kuni’s spin on the “isekai” fantasy subgenre, you aren’t alone.
The main characters here are high school students Yuu, Haru, and Kotona. Yuu is a wheelchair-bound student at the top of his class, who’s always had feelings for Kotona. But she’s actually dating Haru, Yuu’s best friend and popular member of the school basketball club. Kotona is simply described as an innocent high school girl, though there has to be something else to her. Whether Yuu is at least a little jealous of Haru isn’t clear, but the movie’s story will kick into gear once an incident currently being kept vague occurs with Kotona. This will be the catalyst for Yuu and Haru to travel between Ni no Kuni and our world, which will lead to them interacting with the Kotonas from both. Whether the two boys also have alternate world counterparts isn’t clear, but it would be illogical if they didn’t given current details.
I’ve seen several comments expressing disappointment at Studio Ghibli’s lack of involvement, who handled the excellent cutscenes from the DS and PS3 titles. (They weren’t involved with the second game.) There are good reasons why this isn’t the case. Ghibli hasn’t released a movie since When Marine Was There in 2014, and production was paused after Hayao Miyazaki’s “retirement,” with the company surviving on merchandise and licensing costs and sales. In that time, several staffers have left the company, while those who remained are currently working on Miyazaki’s new film, currently known as “How Do You Live?” Miyazaki has retired and unretired three times, so he can’t give this up.
Besides, several of those ex-Ghibli staffers and collaborators are on this movie. Joe Hisaishi is working on the soundtrack, as he did for the games. Yoshiyuki Momose, who provided visual design work for Ghibli films including Only Yesterday, My Neighbors the Yamadas, and Grave of the Fireflies is directing it. Others could be on board, but details are currently early.
From the synopsis, the production team could distinguish it from other recent isekai works, of which there is a lot. Level 5 CEO Akihiro Hino, who’s handling the overall direction, original draft, and screenplay, is talented, but he’s much better with a team watching over him. And to say he’s not on par with Ghibli’s best talent is an understatement. At the very least, signs suggest that its story won’t be as saccharine to a ridiculous degree as the second game’s, so hopefully it will be entertaining for all audiences.
The Ni no Kuni movie will open in Japan sometime this summer. Anime News Network noted how Warner teased this as a “global project” before it was announced; if this is indeed the film they referred to, more details should be shared on March 23rd.
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Geoff
News Editor | Geoff is some nerd who writes for a blog and thinks he's knowledgeable. He write a lot about video games, but is capable of writing about other subjects, too. Twitter
