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yurisorcerer.bsky.social
the yuletide sorcerer
@yurisorcerer.bsky.social
440 followers 200 following 8.7K posts
"Where you learned that one?"

I've actually never done that before!

I black out and death becomes you and yours!
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yurisorcerer.bsky.social
yeah!
Interestingly I'd say the most fantastical conceit, the idea of the Iorph (elves basically) living so long that any humans they befriend die long before them, is by far the most successful one. Our main character Maquia finds and raises a human baby, who she names Ariel, while fleeing from the destruction of her home, and the bulk of the film is dedicated to exploring their complicated mother/son relationship over the course of that Ariel's life. All the while, there are a lot of political bits and small subplots woven into the story. It's well-crafted, but the central questions the film poses about motherhood are unfortunately just not ones that resonate very deeply with my life experience, and I find its conclusions a bit maudlin and simplistic. I think the film intends to illustrate that a lot of the maxims that Maquia clings to as she attempts to be a good mother---"motherhood is about guts", "moms don't cry", blah blah blah---are flimsy, but I wouldn't say it does so very effectively. At the end of the film, in the midst of a war, she and Ariel are reunited on opposite sides of the battlefield, and it's meant to be this big, dramatic moment, but she just leaves at the end. And in a way, this ties back to that first conceit---easily the movie's most successful idea is that leaving someone behind, whether temporarily or, through death, permanently, doesn't have to be a sad thing. But the other stuff it tries to say on its way there just doesn't really hit very hard for me. Maybe if you're a mother or an aspiring mother this movie means the world to you, and I'd never try to take that from anyone, but it didn't do a lot for me in that regard, as someone who's often been depressed about my inability to have biological children. What it did do for me, I'll say, is almost the entire craftsmanship side of the film. It's really pretty, the directing (a relatively rare turn in that role from Mari Okada, who also wrote the thing) is snappy, and in particular the architecture, especially the interiors in the early half of the movie and the Victorian-esque mining town of its middle third, are all spectacular. In general the world feels very alive and lived-in, something that is sorely appreciated in a fantasy film like this that relies on us the audience being able to believe that this is a real place where people really live. I also particularly love the dragons, who are animated in CG for much of the film but are rendered in flat animation as it nears its climax, a really subtle touch that I think is very, very fun. (In general, regarding the dragons, I'd say the film's portrayal of a world where the myths are fading is one of its most compelling aspects, and it ties in nicely to its thoughts about death and finity.) Given that I watched this on Pluto it was the English dub, which I have to say was also pretty solid. Normally the dubs for things that are this serious tend to be a bit hit and miss, but I liked this one. Lipica Shah as The Village Elder in the first part of the film is probably my favorite performance, despite being a small part, but there are strong ones throughout. Overall I'd say this is a good film overall, just with some missteps and perhaps not entirely one for me. Maybe if I rewatch it sometime it will hit me differently, who can say.
December 11, 2025 at 5:38 PM
yurisorcerer.bsky.social
Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms
the key visual for Maquia
December 11, 2025 at 5:14 PM
yurisorcerer.bsky.social
-The one time I DID miss the earlier directorial approach was during some of the daytime scenes near the very start of the movie, on the note of Makima. I think maybe it would've benefited those a little more, but this is an extremely minor complaint all things considered.
December 11, 2025 at 2:22 AM
yurisorcerer.bsky.social
-(The "I never went to school either" bit hits much harder when you actually care about the character it turns out.)
-not to just gas my girl but Makima is amazing in this too even though she's really only in it for a small bit. That ending scene, brrrr.
December 11, 2025 at 2:21 AM
yurisorcerer.bsky.social
-Reze in general honestly. I've never disliked the character, of course? But she was not someone I got super attached to during any of my read-throughs of the manga. With this film I feel like I really FELT the essence of her character as opposed to merely understanding it.
December 11, 2025 at 2:20 AM
yurisorcerer.bsky.social
-I mentioned it already but the fight is nuts.
-everything with Denji and Reze in the school is shot so absolutely perfectly that I think if you somehow really carefully edited the movie you could convince someone who doesn't know what Chainsaw Man is that it's from a regular romance film
December 11, 2025 at 2:20 AM
yurisorcerer.bsky.social
Some thoughts:

-the directing in this is overall completely insane, especially the lighting which is fucking fantastic. I was really skeptical about the change in directorial vision from season 1 to this but you can't argue with results, I guess.
December 11, 2025 at 2:18 AM
yurisorcerer.bsky.social
Chainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc
the theatrical poster for the Chainsaw Man movie
December 11, 2025 at 2:16 AM
yurisorcerer.bsky.social
I have not actually revisited the film since I first watched it which tbh is definitely a case of me letting Some Person cloud a work way too much for me, I should watch it again soon.
December 11, 2025 at 12:15 AM
yurisorcerer.bsky.social
the genres of comment present:

-guy who has never heard of Northernlion, mad about learning about him
-person treating this out of context stream clip as a gospel revelation
-incoherent and badly-spelled objections from bluesky front-pagers that boil down to "no you"

really good stuff all around.
December 10, 2025 at 2:41 PM