Bubble - Review

Despite a more than impressive creative team behind the film, I must admit that I did not have the highest expectations for Bubble, considering how relatively mediocre some of the other Netflix-released anime films were that I had seen recently. Nevertheless, the start of this movie definitely got its hooks in me. Beginning with a journey through the cosmos, zooming all the way into the Earth to Tokyo, we get introduced to quite a novel concept that probably could only exist in the realm of anime: kids compete for basic supplies in an abandoned city using parkour skills and mysterious floating bubbles in a game of capture the flag. 

Our protagonist is Hibiki, the star member of a parkour team and also survived the tower blast that partially destroyed Tokyo and threw everything into chaos (with weird bubbles and gravitational oddities appearing all over the place). As the story progresses we learn that Hibiki suffers from some sort of disorder regarding audio input and frequently cuts himself off from the outside world with headphones, which reminded me somewhat of another Netflix anime film: Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop. I found it quite fascinating that he is in some ways more at peace after the tragedy of the tower. Now that Tokyo is mostly abandoned, he does not have to deal with the loud noises and disruptions of a bustling city. The filmmakers had something interesting here but chose not to explore it further. 

For an anime film, there is surprisingly little cat screen time. Although that is compensated for by a girl with cat-like behaviour, which does certainly comes in handy when navigating the ruined urban environment. Said girl is the mysterious, starry-eyed Uta who is repeatedly connected to the story of The Little Mermaid. With that story’s influence, the film tries to establish a special bond between Hibiki and Uta. They do have one genuinely heartfelt scene of connection, however the romance that is central to this story fails to truly materialise by the time the credits roll.

Outside of Hibiki and Uta, the rest of the characters are one-note and just plain bland. I struggled to even remember their names to be honest and one could be forgiven for thinking that we were never given them in the first place. A man named Shin and a Scientist called Makoto serve as the elders to a group of a teenage outcasts. Makoto has quite of a lot of dialogue but much of this is her analysing or explaining the anomalies that surround them. How and why she came to be a pseudo-parent to these boys is never explained.  The only other person of note is Usagi which is purely due to the notable difference in character design. He is the youngest of the group, still just a small kid. He weirdly comments that Uta’s clothing is odd even though everyone has unusual outfits on. And that is about it when it comes to the rest of the crew. It is hardly surprising that the supporting cast don’t get a great deal to work with, given the time restraints of a two hour movie, but there really isn’t much to them at all. They have a lack of agency, only existing to support and prop-up Hibiki in his time of need. Why not delve into what drove these boys to live within the giant bubble? None of these people are blood-related yet we are led to believe they have a sort of familial bond (with Makoto and Shin as the parents). Why not explore what brought them all together beyond an interest in high-stakes traversal and navigation?

I never really understood what the deal was with the bubbles and the weird gravitational anomalies. The explanations given for what they are just seem weak. The story might have been better served if the focus was kept on the team competitions rather than the grand scale unnatural phenomena. Then the film could be more akin to a sports drama and this group of young outcasts might have a bit more substance to them, instead of the mere narrative props they end up amounting to. 

The lack of any true antagonistic force does not help the film either. The other-worldly entities residing at the tower are too unknowable and undeveloped to really be considered a threat. All that we are left with is a vaguely villainous parkour group going by the name Undertaker. They have matching uniforms, use high tech gadgets, voice modulating software, and drones and are borderline cheaters. Oh and perhaps worst of all: they are streamers...somehow the bubbles had more of an imposing presence.

All that being said, there are two great successes in Bubble. The first being the animation of the parkour sequences. Admittedly, some sections of the these actions scenes did not quite land for me. There is an issue of characters not meshing properly with the rotating three dimensional environments. Their hands and feet occasionally don’t appear to make proper contact with surfaces. This was only in a few sequences though, much of the action matches the agility and precision of the manoeuvre gear segments of Attack on Titan (the first three seasons of which were likewise animated by Wit Studio). Watching all the competitors’ race across rooftops and bridges while the “camera” spins around them is truly thrilling. Indeed there are quite a lot of these sequences but watching the daring and sometimes reckless stunts of the racers never got old. Despite the dangerous and perilous situation, the high octane animation and score keep the scenes joyous and fairly light-hearted.

The artwork in general is similarly at a very high standard. There are many gorgeous close-ups of the main characters, with such high facial detail compared to wider shots that it draws your eye in even more. Of course no anime would be complete without at least some animation of food and Bubble is no exception. A simple fried egg is made to look mouth-watering when Uta plays with it on her plate. The overgrown and partially underwater buildings of the ruined Tokyo remind me a great deal of the setting and world of Weathering With You. One of my favourite locations is a stunning secret roof-top garden where Hibiki decides to open up to Uta about his childhood.

The Second major success would be the musical score by Hiroyuki Sawano, who is on great form here, doing much of the heavy lifting to make the film magical and stir the emotions. Certainly it could be argued that without it, the film would be pretty lifeless. I particularly enjoyed when the basic tune being sung by Uta powerfully transitioned into full blown orchestral music that helps sweep the characters along the beautiful but derelict landscape. 

Ultimately, although I enjoyed the spectacle and music of Bubble, it still felt disappointing and derivative of other recent anime films. The great light show extravaganza that is this movie’s finale felt just a bit hollow without a strong story or compelling characters. Bubble is certainly a lot of fun and thanks to decent pacing and a restrained run-time it does not overstay its welcome. But if you were hoping for a little more than that then I suggest you look elsewhere.

Score: 5.5/10