The Case of Hana & Alice

This is a strange little movie. OK, so in 2003, Shunji Iwai makes a live action film named "Hana and Alice". Then 9 years later, he makes a prequel starring the same two actresses, but animates it. In this world of making live action adaptations (which I hate) this is one that goes the opposite direction.

The animation is all rotoscoped. That is where you trace over a live action reference to make your animation. It reminds me of Matthew McCleskey's YouTube videos. It is a very...distinct style for a feature.

The titular case is the worst run investigation I have ever seen. As I explained it out loud, I couldn't help but laugh at Hana and Alice's incompetence in solving the mystery. The movie spends most of its runtime on these misadventures. The two of them spinning their wheels as they go nowhere.

And to think, the whole mystery happens because of a Kit-Kat bar. Give me a break.

It is a prequel to the 2004 film 'Hana and Alice' from the same writer, director. So I had to watch that before coming to this one and I found both the films were pretty good. Usually to watch a sequel, you have to be familiar with the original. But for a prequel, it's not necessary as the story wise it would be the original, despite not the first to release in the series or franchise. Either way watching both the films is good for the better understanding, and chronological order is the best way to go for.

The formats are different, as well as the time gap between the two films. After all it was not a bad decision. This anime was like any other neat and cute anime you had seen. Yeah, I liked the smooth animation. The sketches were not very detailed, yet very detail in the motion presentation. If you are an anime fan, it will be a treat. I'm not saying it is the best anime ever, but surely a little gem and not be missed by the fans of the 2004 film.

I don't know whether the final scene of this film and the opening of the other film are same (because of the different mood), but to me it looked like that way. This film is to reveal how Hana and Alice first met and become close friends. But it all begins with the Alice's new school's legend, the death of Yuda. Destined to meet Hana who was a classmate of Yuda, is now her neighbour. So their adventure begins to find new details about Yuda's life, but ends up with misadventures.

❝I won't forget that pain as long as I live.❞

The perfect characters, I mean two young teen girls. Also a perfect storyline, which is about finding the truth behind a mystery. But it's not thrillerised as everything about the film suggest, including the title. Very much dramatised with lots of fun filled often tense moments. The first act was good, but it was the remaining film that keeps getting better till the final scene. I liked the second half of the film, especially the quest taken by Hana and Alice was simple yet entertaining.

There are some off the track adventures, like for a brief moment an old man enters the narration, but that added an extra flavour to take us in a new direction. Soon it reinstates to its original path and that's where the ultimate friendship blooms between two title characters. It's always about a boy between them. Their friendship was tested in the other film over a boy, but here joining hands to solve the mystery surrounding a boy's death. Like the first film, the ballet had its part, though not a main draw, except being a part of one of the main characters.

The original cast from the 2004 film rendered their voices for the respective two lead roles. So except watching it in the anime version, the appeal is almost the same. As per some sources, a manga series is following after this. But I hope the story continues with the third film, either in live-action or in anime. This is an under- noticed anime, but well appreciated. I really surprised of its quality and theme. For me, it's definitely slightly ahead of the first film and this my review briefs why. So surely worth a watch and I recommend it.

7/10

A heart warming and sweet, and most certainly hilarious, story about relationships and the many different encounters in life that shape who we are and where we go. We follow the two leads on their investigation to solve a mystery that is as enigmatic and confusing as being a teenager. The musical score is a a perfect compliment to the simple and charming pace and tone of the film. A anime must!!!

This film perfectly captures the adventurous spirit, the whimsical imaginations, and the awkward solutions that fuels every day life of a 14 year old. As someone who grew up in this kind of environment (although a decade ago) I was uplifted by nostalgia and the naive purity of all the characters.

Just look at the screen! The sky painted in this film is absolutely stunning. Backgrounds are detailed and yet not an eye-sore. Sure the characters looked like rough sketch compared to other more visually accomplished Japanese anime, but I think it was simply a wonderful style to match the story.

Iwai Shunji, the sensitive soul behind such classics like "Love Letter" and "April Story (Shigatsu Monogatari)" reunites with the original 2004 cast of "Hana and Alice" (Yu Aoi and Anne Suzuki) to tell this small but emotionally rich story involving ballet, a school cult, and a murder investigation. It's fine that you haven't watched the 2004 film. This sets up a new story and invests time in proper character development. The film follows Alice as she interacts with a number of people and proceeds to build relationships with them. Some are hilarious (the cult leader), some are touching (an old man) and her meeting with Hana, is something else entirely. Despite an over-the-top set-up, the mystery's solution actually makes sense and isn't contrived to deliver ridiculous twist.

The laughs are there, it looks amazing, the characters are people whom I'd give big hugs to and Iwai Shunji is definitely on-form in his direction.

The best part of this movie is the animation, which features very saturated colors that look like vibrant watercolor paintings. It takes a little while to get going but once the two main girls meet things really pick up. There are some laugh out loud moments, particularly the back and forth between Hana and Alice. There's one point where one of the characters is calling after the other, "ne? Ne? NE? NnnNEEEE?" that made me giggle. Also some very weird/awkward school drama that was handled in an atypical way, especially for anime. I recommend for anyone who wants a strange, mysterious drama about a couple of awkward teenage girls.