Channelknight Fadran

This movie was kinda hot garbage in comparison to the other ghiblis or... well, really anything. The story took too many unrelated turns and the overall message was really negative. It follows an entitled girl being forced into what's essentially slave labor, then randomly and unexpectedly goes back into being entitled again. The movie could've gone completely without magic and had the exact same 'story' (with a few other minor changes, of course). The whole earwig band thing was really, REALLY unrelated to the narrative, theme, and everything else. I kept hoping that all the awesome elements of character, plot, and worldbuilding would pop up in the end to pull it all together, but the ending just had everyone and everything just magically become better. In other news, I really did not like the CGI. Call me sentimental, but ghibli really should just stick with drawn animation. I've always loved their good ol' classic anime and it's possible that I would've liked this movie more if it had been that way. I get that that's nitpicky, but I'm going to say it anyways. While I'm on nitpicks, though, let me add a few others: - The video and audio weren't synched. Maybe that was just a me thing, but it REALLY didn't help at all - Did the movie really end on a Christmas note of all things? Pro tip: NEVER end your movie on a Christmas note. - Why was it never acknowledged that the mandrake guy basically owned and abused the witch? Who, might I add, was his band friend for years? - Someone slap that mother in the face for naming her kid after their band and leaving her at an orphange doorstep only to show up eight years later (or however long it was. I didn't keep track of her age). Of course, there were some things I did like. I had no issue with the music itself, and I absolutely LOVED Erika's devil horn hair. I guess, despite it all; despite how hopelessly garbage this story was; despite the terrible message of entitlement and complete lack of storybuilding... That baby at the orphange DID have a Totoro doll. Kay, that's my two cents. Please don't @ me.