Sydney Film Festival 2019 - Film Review - Children of the Sea - Japanese Anime

Director Ayumu Watanabe's visually beautiful, Children of the Sea illustrates the mastery of this form of animation by the Japanese industry with the anime genre. The film presents a magical seascape for the setting of an adventure of momentous proportions for the young girl Ruka and her new and mysterious friend Umi, a boy who seems strangely at one with the sea. Umi is not alone for he has an older brother, Sora who is weak and sickly yet both he and Umi possess powers of affinity with sea creatures far beyond a normal person. All of them notice a strange song traversing the oceans, luring all sea creatures to a specific location in the ocean. The importance of the impending event is the focus of this film.

Watanabe's work not only has exquisite detail in the background and settings but portrays all manner of ocean life from the well-known to the recently discovered species by marine biologists. This is a well research film. The voice-overs for the characters are provided by experienced child actors Mana Ashida, Hiiro Ishibashi and adult musician, Goro Inagaki.

Although classified as a film for all ages, the mythical story telling and use of science is better suited to the teen and adult market. At 110 minutes running time, the film is well paced, magnificent adaptation of the original manga of the same name by Daisuke Igarashi.