This movie is about a lot of things: death, grief, acceptance, culture shock, and the clash (and harmony) between honoring modern and traditional values in Japanese society. Yet despite its numerous themes to juggle, Okki's Inn manages to stick together in a simple story about an orphaned girl's journey to move on from the traumatic death of her parents with the help of a semi-active inn, ran by her kind, but staunchly conservative grandmother, it's guests, two mischievous ghosts and a demon. Structurally, this film is unique as it takes a more episodic approach rather than something with three acts. This isn't really much of a problem for me since the structure of a film's story is more of a guideline than an actual rule book. But it does leave me perplexed; the nonexistence of a plot structure gives the intentional relaxed tone this movie masterfully makes and gives enough room for character development. But this comes at the cost of the transition of scenes feel jarring and/or feel abrupt. As such the pacing feels disjointed in places and it makes me wonder whether this is better off a series.
Animation-wise, it's good. The character designs are mostly well done with bit of a caveat: the kids and the supernatural are adorable, but the majority of the adult characters are more forgettable designwise (with the exception of the Fortune Teller). The background art really does capture the idyllic peace of small town Japan. One thing that hasn't aged so well though is the cgi, but thankfully it's sparingly used throughout the movie, but when you notice something like cgi cars, you can't really ignore them.
But honestly, I love more of this movie more than I hate. I love Okki, especially how in spite how she is dealing with trauma and anxiety, she still tries to find joy (I find this exceptionally compelling and refreshing, since it showcases her strength in resolve). I love the third half of this movie, especially when the final guest shows up and a certain moment drags her into the nadir of her grief.
Problems aside, I think Okki's Inn is worth a trip overall.
Animation-wise, it's good. The character designs are mostly well done with bit of a caveat: the kids and the supernatural are adorable, but the majority of the adult characters are more forgettable designwise (with the exception of the Fortune Teller). The background art really does capture the idyllic peace of small town Japan. One thing that hasn't aged so well though is the cgi, but thankfully it's sparingly used throughout the movie, but when you notice something like cgi cars, you can't really ignore them.
But honestly, I love more of this movie more than I hate. I love Okki, especially how in spite how she is dealing with trauma and anxiety, she still tries to find joy (I find this exceptionally compelling and refreshing, since it showcases her strength in resolve). I love the third half of this movie, especially when the final guest shows up and a certain moment drags her into the nadir of her grief.
Problems aside, I think Okki's Inn is worth a trip overall.