Movie Review: ChaO

 

Michael's Movie Grade: B- 

A charming but flawed anime film.

This movie tells a love story between a human and a mermaid. It is this romance that really holds this movie together. As quirky as this movie gets, this romance remains very sweet and really touching. Not only are both these characters really likable but the relationship between these two characters feels really fleshed out. As we learn more about them (especially with a twist in the last act), the relationship becomes even more emotional. 

I am kind of split when it comes to the look of this film. There is so much imagination in every frame of this movie. The character designs are quite creative and visually pleasing. Yet at the same time the character designs clash with some being much more cartoon-y and over the top than others. Because of this many of these characters simply don't look like the belong in the same movie.  

This movie at many times tries too hard to be quirky. The humor is often simply weird for the reason of being weird. Similarly, the film is much too franticly paced.

The romance of this film is sweet, and often visually pleasing but it is also too quirky for its own good.