Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
Unhappy after his new baby sister displaces him, four-year-old Kun begins meeting people and pets from his family's history in their unique house in order to help him become the big brother he was meant to be.
Mirai is a visually stunning and thematically intimate film from Mamoru Hosoda that stands apart through its deeply personal, episodic structure rooted in a young child's perspective on family and time. The cinematography and production design are exceptional — the house as a liminal magical space is beautifully realized, and the fantastical sequences (particularly the railway station of lost children) are breathtaking. Its novelty lies in how singular its emotional register is: quiet, domestic, and grounded yet genuinely magical, unlike most fantasy anime. The plot is deliberately loose and episodic, which works thematically but can feel meandering, and the ending, while emotionally satisfying, doesn't fully cohere all the threads. Voice acting (both Japanese and dub) is solid but unremarkable. A one-of-a-kind film in conception and execution.