Out of all the anime ever made, the one which has made the most revenue on a global scale is Shinkai Makoto’s Your Name. Although we shall be examining the movie in the course of a fortnight, we shall first relate to one of his earlier works, which I consider one of the very best. He admires Studio Ghibli and I guess that of all their films, his favourite is the first Ghibli great: Laputa. Ahh, there I can hardly take issue with that, for it is indeed a stupendously good picture. In a sense, Journey to Agartha is his homage to that film, and is almost as brilliant as it was.
Let me get this right before fan all the flames, this movie has been made available in another name across the pond. In the UK it is Notice for Agartha, whereas in the USA it is Children Who Chase Lost Voices. A quick nullification of the premise: The protagonist is a certain Asuna, who is a free willed individual wasting her time on a jagged slab of stones in the middle of nowhere radiostation and listening to English chatter coming through the airwaves from her radio perched on her rock. But she now also gets in touch with a boy called Shun who appears to be an intruder from another world. But, horrid circumstances intervene and just when she is about to be entranced by him, he meets a horrible death. The film for the most part follows her all the way into the Underground World of Shun, where we also meet his brother Shin and their ever creepy teacher Morisaki who has a MacGuffin and ulterior motives. It is in Agartha that a deity exists who can revive the dead, but it is said that such power comes with a heavy price. For Morisaki, who has lost his beloved wife, that price might just be worth paying.
There are indeed subtle undercurrents that are being delved into quite deeply. Both Shin and Asuna have to come to terms with Shun’s death, and grief consumes Morisaki so much that even a decade after losing his wife all he can think of is trying to figure a way out of this world and back to her, no matter the measures. Just like how Laputa lies in the clouds, Agartha’s position is hidden within our own world but again like how Laputa would attempt many ‘topsiders’ to exploit what the place has to offer but then abuse it. As the floating citadel remains in ruins, so does a large chunk of Agartha but they both still keep a semblance of charm. The artworks are virulently beautiful. General religion is aimed and one can see the trucking concepts that are present here. Agartha has protectors, the Quetzal Coatl the guardians of the dead, and their function is to consume the mortal remains and keep the life wheel in motion. It sounds terrifying and indeed looks frightful, but within it is such complicated loveliness. The film stresses especially the necessity to get used to the subtle sign that represents birth and death as cycles. I, too, am fond of the Tell No One style and in particular the Ghibli’s way of having no mouse playing behind the curtains.
Willing to take action that he usually perceives as horrible, which he does out of anguish and does with remorse and as above children’s eyes almost become an elder to Asuna in the entire film. Early in life, Asuna has likewise lost her father which we can imagine was also related to Agartha. Explain why such a journey is important to her, what does she want to share and discover within her soul about herself and her identity. Every coming of age story should be told in this manner.
Here is what this film manages to achieve so well, and it is also the reason why it is up there with Laputa, Spirited Away and some other beautiful Ghibli films, is that it deals with the theme of growing up and has action scenes which are absolutely wonderful. One favourite is when Asuna is taken who a bunch of eerie creatures called the Izoku who do not live in the open as sunlight is there and they take her to their lair. The only place she finds herself after this, is inside a ruined castle, where she is the only occupant of a small, mute, toddler girl, with the exit from the room where she has woken, bricked. The Izoku do not have very extreme powers but cannot move into direct light even if one of those sorts is seen, nightfall is soon and there is no other place to escape. This scene along with others in the film and especially that scene freaked me out even though I am an adult, that was one of the most horrifying and spine-chilling moments from this animated film.
The time when it appeared that Studio Ghibli were done away with was quite depressing for me. I enjoyed those movies far too much. Only with some hesitance I began to give one or two other anime cartoons a chance and this was one of the first that I found. At this point Journey To Agartha broadened my horizon. It is foolish to think that Ghibli Studios is the only studio that produces anime films. If you have only wandered in Ghibli’s Works, consider this studio as a starting point not an endpoint of your exploration. There’s more than this.
Watch Journey to Agartha on Kisscartoon
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