Considering the absurd amount of talent behind the latest anime film from Netflix, Bubble, it’s, to put it lightly, shocking how little substance there is to show for it. Despite expected and exemplary animation, especially in high-octane sequences of weightless parkour battles, Bubble offers little through the story, character development, or pacing, instead of relying on familiar and tired tropes (down on his luck boy meets magical and mysterious girl). Directed by Tetsurō Araki (Attack on Titan) it should come as no surprise that the action sequences are the crown jewel of the film, but considering the talent on board and his immense capabilities, even those seem to pale in comparison to his prior works. Bubble isn’t offensive in its plainness but it is certainly a disappointment for those expecting more of the behind-the-scenes visionaries.
Set mainly in an area known as “Tokyo Battle Kour,” flocked to by wayward youths, the universe is set in a time following a bizarre and otherworldly event which had gravity-defying bubbles rain down on it, effectively cutting Tokyo off from the rest of the world. One day while partaking in a parkour group battle with his team, Hibiki (Jun Shison) plunges into the ocean where he’s saved by a mysterious girl. Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid, Uta, as he names her, learns from those around her how to be human until yet another disturbance threatens her, Hibiki, and the rest of the residents of Tokyo.
Despite what might’ve been an intriguing concept – especially as it strays further to Andersen’s version of the story opposed to Disney’s family-friendly version – the script asks viewers to blindly follow along with what is, ultimately, a half-baked conceit and underdeveloped world. All of this would’ve been easier to overlook had the film had any real draw. Instead, the rules of the world are murky, the characters are thinly drawn and the motivations are poorly explained. We know the basic outline of the story they’re telling and we’re expected to do the heavy lifting in filling in the blanks as the film aims for sheer spectacle over substance when it easily could’ve and should have had both.
Even the exuberant score from Hiroyuki Sawano can’t do much to inspire greater excitement despite his penchant for compositions that enrich the final product (look no further than Promare where his score added further gasoline to an already high-octane film.) It’s especially unfortunate since it’s in these elements the film needed to shine.
Produced by Wit Studio who just released one of the best anime in recent memory with Ranking of Kings and written by Gen Urobuchi (Puella Magi Madoka Magica), the film suffers too many hollow moments to allow the best and brightest sequences to land with as much impact. Despite some generic character designs there’s at least a distinction to each and the action sequences are spectacular to watch unfold, in large part since the world they exist in and the fluidity of parkour fits right into the creator’s wheelhouse.
The strongest is the climatic ones where the entire team is forced to utilize their strengths with sequences that play out as visual feasts, so much taking place that it’s difficult to absorb every detailed bit of choreography. That coupled with vibrant backgrounds allows the film to be visually engaging, even while it fails to muster up much interest in the characters. It’s just a shame, because had the characters been interesting and had the story put even a modicum as much effort into the script as it did the key set pieces, then the worst thing about Bubble would’ve been the fact that audiences weren’t able to experience it all in theaters on a big screen.
Bubble is available now on Netflix. Watch the trailer below.
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