My Oni Girl says, if you lie you will become an Oni, parents used this phrase many generations ago to make children behave, but the current generation isn’t affected by that phrase.
Little did they know that it was real and happens in far more complex ways than they can imagine.
The movie My Oni Girl is produced by Studio Colorido and Twin Engine and Directed by Tomotaka Shibayama, with a different aim in mind, which may or may not have made the movie for, adolescents age to beyond.
Well, the context and theme of the movie My Oni Girl is unique, but does it maintain the uniqueness throughout the story, that’s another argument.
So, to discern if the movie stands its ground till the end and does justice to its viewers, that is the factor to be discussed.
Table of Contents
Animation Type And Character Design In My Oni Girl
First, let’s talk about animation, this movie My Oni Girl boasts a quality animation that is not so extravagant but also not so generic that it would feel out of place.
Though not so much life-like animation flow is present, the overall presentation manages to capture the vibe of the story with its fluid animation.
The most attractive part probably be the animation of the snow gods, their movements are captured in very minute detail making the fantasy element of the story more vivid.
Another major factor to discuss may be the character design.
The protagonist is especially one such character that needed to be present as a teenage boy next door, and the character is successfully designed in that way.
The deuteragonist, the Oni girl is another if not the most important character, maybe more than the protagonist, so her character needed to be a little bit quirky.
That quirkiness is captured through the overall character design, be it her hair color, eyes, or animated movements.
Except for these two major characters, there are more side characters, whom they would meet in their journey, and each of those characters is designed precisely according to their trait and importance in the story.
In short, there is no stinginess in putting enough effort into each character to design and animate them accordingly.
Initiation Of The Story Of My Oni Girl
The story of My Oni Girl doesn’t start with a boom but in such a way, which makes one feel like they are watching a slice-of-life anime series.
However, the beginning phase of the story doesn’t remain the same, it doesn’t take much time to transform into a teenage drama, where two souls start a journey in which they may or may not be able to find themselves.
In the initiation phase, the story somewhat shows the protagonist and his tormented psyche but fails to depict that properly, so the gravity of the reason that induced further changes in the protagonist remain vague.
On the other hand, the Oni girl the most important character in this story doesn’t get much of a chance for character development in the first half of the story since all the events happen in a hurry.
Essence Of Teen As Shown In My Oni Girl
The anime My Oni Girl is a coming-of-age teenage fantasy anime, so it is quite obvious that it should show the struggle and understanding of teenagers.
However, except in a few sequences, the movie fails to capture a teenage mindset at all, which results in the story becoming a hurriedly made fantasy drama.
The story may have been about two teenagers ultimately finding out about themselves, but the process is so vague that the result remains less impactful than expected.
Even if one wants to categorize this movie as an adventure anime, many required instances aren’t built up properly.
So it could be a story including teenagers but failed to become a story about teenagers since it is missing the very essence of the youth.
Amalgamation Of Fantasy And Reality In My Oni Girl
This story may fail in the aspect of becoming a coming-of-age teenage movie, but it keeps its fantasy element intact in such a way that it doesn’t collide with the reality part of the story.
This story especially retains its reality part and the consequences that come along with it, while displaying the fantasy elements of the story in full potential.
It is quite interesting to see Oni and god-like entities roaming in the modern city, while in the later half of the story, the village of the Oni doesn’t get the expected exposure.
It could be more immersive if the Oni village could be shown with much greater details.
Pacing Of The Story In My Oni Girl
This is another flaw of the story of My Oni Girl since the overall pacing of the story isn’t constant it does not even go properly with the overall storyline.
Primarily the story starts with a relaxed pace showing the daily life of the protagonist, and then the deuteragonist is introduced.
However, after a short period, the story picks up the pace and starts to show all of the fantasy elements unfold even before properly realizing the fact that a new character is introduced to the story.
After the introduction of the fantasy elements, the story enters into a phase of reality where fantasy doesn’t exist at all and the story starts to get slow.
This discrepancy where the on-and-off switch for fantasy exists, hinders a smooth pacing of the story.
Required Variation Of Characters In My Oni Girl
Although there are not many characters in this movie, still they are not without their unique traits.
In My Oni Girl, most of the characters have subtle differences, and most of them are adults except the protagonist and the deuteragonist.
However, they aren’t shown as having impeccable existence, but with their own sets of flaws.
Another flaw is the story doesn’t spend enough time exploring those aspects of the adults, which kills off the possible variations among the other side characters that exist in the story.
So, in the aspect of character variation, it doesn’t fulfill the minimum requirement.
Ending Of The Story Of My Oni Girl
The ending of My Oni Girl is not as impactful compared to the momentum it builds up before.
Though the ending is short and sweet, that doesn’t suit the overall story, since a turbulent journey requires an impactful ending, not a happily ever after ending.
Final Thought
After watching the movie My Oni Girl, and finding out its shortcomings in character variation, and the irregular pacing of the story, on the other hand, its masterful touch in mixing reality with fantasy, one could have a mixed feeling about this.
However, it could be said, that this movie deserves a watch before being judged.
